Blummenfelt smashes ironman world record!

Kristian Blummenfelt lit up the triathlon world once again, topping his Olympic gold medal in Tokyo earlier this year with a win and record-breaking time in his first-ever attempt at a full Ironman distance. The Giant-sponsored triathlete won Ironman Cozumel with a time of 7:21:12, shattering the previous fastest time for a full-distance event.

After winning gold in Tokyo in July, Blummenfelt set his sights on racing his first Ironman distance event. Until this year, the Norwegian had focused on sprint and Olympic distance events. In addition to that Olympic victory, Blummenfelt also won this year’s World Triathlon Championship, which took place in August in Edmonton, Canada.

Blummenfelt chose Cozumel, Mexico, to make his Ironman debut, part of a plan to ramp up and target more long-distance events in 2022 including the Ironman World Championships in Kona. The 27-year-old got off to a fast start, completing the 2.4-mile swim in second place, just 2 seconds behind early leader Paul Schuster of Germany.

From there, Blummenfelt broke things wide open with a dominating ride on his Trinity Advanced Pro bike. Riding with a CADEX WheelSystem and his Giant Rivet TT helmet, he blitzed the 112-mile distance in 4:02:40, by far the fastest bike split.

That set Blummenfelt up to run away with the win. Racing the marathon distance for the first time, the Norwegian never faulted, crushing the 26.2 miles with an incredible time of 2:35:24.

Blummenfelt’s record-setting time gave him a winning margin of 15:23 over second-place finisher Ruedi Wild of Switzerland. Schuster finished third, 20:20 off Blummenfelt’s time.

With Olympic gold, a world title, and now a record-breaking Ironman win, there’s no question Blummenfelt has been the star of the triathlon world in 2021. Now the Norwegian turns his attention toward 2022 as he looks to continue his incredible run.