Kristian Blummenfelt wins the IRONMAN in Frankfurt and is crowned European Champion
Kristian Blummenfelt, known as the Norwegian 'bull', has demonstrated his quality by winning the IRONMAN in Frankfurt and being crowned European Champion with an impressive time of 7:27:21.
This victory also secures him a place in the Kona World Cup, the most prestigious event in triathlon, which will be held on October 26.
Blummenfelt, who only 13 days ago had competed in the Paris Olympics in the super sprint relay event, he declared before the event that his goal was simply to “survive and finish” to validate his place for Kona.
However, he exceeded all expectations, proving to be in top shape for this distance, and took the victory in spectacular fashion in Frankfurt, breaking the event record and recording one of the best marks in the history of IRONMAN.
The Norwegian 'bull' especially dominated the running segment, completing it in a time of 2:32:29, despite having to vomit and interrupt his rhythm to go to the bathroom.
On the other hand, Patrick Lange, two-time IRONMAN world champion and one of the favorites, could not keep up with Blummenfelt and finished the test in the 8ª position.
In the race, the German Wilhelm Hirsch led the way out of the water, completing the swim in 45:51. Blummenfelt emerged from the water in 7ª position.
Danish Kristian Høgenhaug, despite suffering a crash in the cycling segment, achieved the best time of the day on the bike, with an impressive split of 3:57:09. Blummenfelt, who was initially in seventh position, rallied during the run, assuming the lead and maintaining it until crossing the finish line.
Second place went to the British Kieran Lindars, followed by Italian Gregory barnaby.
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Slots in the test
The Frankfurt IRONMAN represented the last opportunity to qualify for the Kona World Cup, with the last 6 places obtained by Kieran Lindars, Kristian Høgenhaug (DEN), Menno Koolhaas (NLD), Jonas Hoffman (DEU) and Finn Große-Freese (DEU).
Top 10 IROMMAN Frankfurt 2024
| Job title | Athlete | Final time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristian Blummenfelt | 07:27:21 |
| 2 | Kieran Lindars | 07:32:05 |
| 3 | Gregory barnaby | 07:33:53 |
| 4 | Kristian Høgenhaug | 07:45:13 |
| 5 | menno koolhaas | 07:35:54 |
| 6 | Jonas hoffmann | 07:34:43 |
| 7 | Kacper Stepniak | 07:41:18 |
| 8 | Patrick Lange | 07:36:43 |
| 9 | Finn Große-Freese | 07:44:17 |
| 10 | Henrik Gosch | 07:39:49 |