Double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee rolled back the years to deliver a stunning display at the world’s toughest triathlon – but fell just short of denying Kristian Grue a successful title defence at the iconic Norseman Xtreme Triathlon.
The London and Rio gold medallist may have retired from professional competition in 2024, but he continues to impress on the endurance scene with yet another extreme ‘bucket list’ challenge added to his ever-growing collection.
Having raced up the Empire State Building, gravel cycled in South Africa and skied across vast mountain landscapes, the 38-year-old celebrated ‘Yorkshire Day’ by pushing home-favourite and last year’s winner, Grue, all the way in this most brutal of swim-bike-run experiences.
Competitive spirit burns through
As a proud Yorkshireman, it will surely not have been lost on him that his efforts came on a day when the English county of his birth is celebrated, as he gave more than a glimpse of his past glories in securing a second extreme triathlon podium, following his third place at Patagonman in 2025.
Indeed, although Brownlee insisted beforehand that he was there to participate rather than compete, he admitted afterwards that there were plenty of moments when instinct took over, and he was simply racing.
In an interview with Slowtwitch, which was shared on the Norseman Instagram page, Brownlee wouldn’t confirm if he was ready for another extreme challenge but had plenty to say about the infamous Zombie Hill – an 11km stretch of hairpin bends with a gradient of 10% all the way to the finish line.
“It was just a grind up Zombie Hill… that is just savage. Yes, there are hairpins on it, but the straights must be 2-3km long, and the climb is absolutely brutal,” he said. “Coming up the mountain, I was just keeping going as fast as I could, really.
Zombie Hill leaves its mark on Olympian
“I kept looking behind me to see if there was anyone coming up behind me and saw in the last kilometre that someone was getting pretty close, so I had to push it on a little bit.
“I enjoy the challenge; I enjoy coming to different places, and I enjoy the community as well. You can ask me if I enjoyed it, but don’t ask me if I am going to do a third one, because right now the answer will be no… although it might be different in the morning.”
The morning began with calm waters in Eidfjord, but times suggested athletes were facing a current beneath the surface. Grue set the pace from the start, emerging first from the 3.8km swim, while Brownlee exited the water in sixth place, one and a half minutes behind.
Brownlee quickly erased the deficit on the bike and caught Grue, with the two athletes riding much of the course across Hardangervidda in close company, pulling away from their fellow athletes and producing a gap that would eventually secure them the top two places.
Grue grinds it out against Brownlee
After hours of close racing, Grue eventually managed to edge ahead of Brownlee and gradually extended his lead, while behind the leading duo, the battle for the final podium position remained intense as former Norseman winner Hans-Christian Tungesvik (NOR) battled with American Ernest Mantell.
Brownlee held on to second place in his Norseman debut, but Tungesvik produced a remarkable finish, overtaking Mantell in the final kilometre to secure third. The Norwegian crossed the line just 35 seconds behind Brownlee.
Grue’s victory never appeared seriously threatened once he had established his lead. After leading out of the water and controlling the race from the front, he capped off an impressive performance with a second consecutive Norseman victory in a time of 9:53:46.
Brownlee crossed in 10:18:19 (+24:32) and Tungesvik in 10:18:55 (+25:08).
The women’s race was equally captivating, with the lead changing hands repeatedly throughout the day. Dutch athlete Ilona Eversdijk exited the water first before Norway’s Tonja Lunde Johansen, Finland’s Maisa Tuliniemi and Slovakia’s Nikola Čorbová all enjoyed spells at the front as the race ebbed and flowed.
Marathon crucial in women’s race
When the athletes started the run, Tuliniemi led the race, with Čorbová in second and Kaja Bergwitz-Larsen (NOR) in third. But with several strong runners close behind, the race was far from settled, and the marathon would prove decisive.
Among those chasing was Helene Melson Tungesvik (NOR), who produced one of the strongest runs of the day. Starting more than 12.5 minutes behind Čorbová, she steadily reduced the gap and moved into podium contention.
Despite the pressure from behind, Čorbová claimed the victory after a consistently strong performance across all three disciplines.
Behind her, Tungesvik’s impressive run earned her second place, while Spain’s Sonia Tomegros Regalado claimed the final podium spot.
In a Slowtwitch video posted on the Norseman Instagram page, Čorbová said: “For me, this is so emotional – so much emotion.
“The water was very cold, but it was fun jumping in off the ferry. The bike was great, and the run was also perfect; I had so much fun and saw so much beautiful nature here in Norway. Norway is just wonderful.”
The day ended with double celebrations for the Tungesvik family. Just a year after giving birth to their child, Helene Melson Tungesvik finished runner-up in the women’s race, while husband Hans-Christian claimed third in the men’s event.
Norseman 2026: Men’s results
- Kristian Grue (Norway), 9:53:46
- Alistair Brownlee (Great Britain), 10:18:19
- Hans-Christian Tungesvik (Norway), 10:18:55
Norseman 2026: Women’s results
- Nikola Čorbová (Slovakia), 12:04:56
- Helene Melson Tungesvik (Norway), 12:09:24
- Sonia Tomegros Regalado, 12:13:59
