IRONMAN Kalmar 2026: Antonio Benito seeks a leap in the Pro Series
Antonio Benito will compete this Saturday, August 15th, in the IRONMAN Kalmar 2026, where he will have the opportunity to score up to 5.000 points and climb positions in the IRONMAN Pro Series.
The Spanish triathlete arrives in Sweden after finishing third in the IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt , a result that also secured his qualification for the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona.
Kalmar will be his next big event in a season in which Benito has already made it clear that he can be at the front in long distance.
Antonio Benito arrives after his podium finish in Frankfurt
Benito began his IRONMAN Pro Series season with a 14th place finish at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside . This was followed by a DNF in Texas and a 10th place finish at IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence.
His best result on the circuit came in Frankfurt, where he finished third with a time of 4:54:47 , only behind Norwegians Casper Stornes and Gustav Iden.
The German race had to be held in a shortened format due to the high temperatures. The professionals completed the 3,8-kilometer swim, but the cycling portion was reduced to 125 kilometers and the running portion to 21,1 kilometers.
At Triathlon News you can check the complete results of IRONMAN Frankfurt 2026.
Kalmar can change his situation in the IRONMAN Pro Series
Antonio Benito faces the Swedish race ranked 19th in the IRONMAN Pro Series , so Kalmar appears as a particularly interesting opportunity to increase his score.
The IRONMAN Pro Series is the professional circuit that brings together certain IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events and establishes its ranking based on the points obtained by the athletes during the season.
An IRONMAN awards 5.000 points to the winner and deducts one point for every second the athlete finishes behind the winner. The final ranking is based on each triathlete's five best results, with a maximum of three IRONMAN races.
That makes every minute in Kalmar crucial. A result close to victory would allow Benito to make a significant leap from his current position before the decisive stretch of the season.
Marquardt, Foley and Hanson, among the main rivals
The Spaniard will face a race with several names capable of fighting for the top positions. These include Matthew Marquardt, Trevor Foley, Matt Hanson, and Jonas Schomburg , as well as Kacper Stepniak, Gregory Barnaby, and Jonas Hoffmann.
Matthew Marquardt comes into this race after finishing second at IRONMAN Lake Placid, where only Marten Van Riel managed to beat him. The American also won IRONMAN South Africa this season.
Trevor Foley started 2026 by winning IRONMAN New Zealand and subsequently triumphed at IRONMAN 70.3 Pennsylvania. He finished eighth in Lake Placid.
Matt Hanson , one of the top-ranked athletes in the Pro Series, will also be one to watch, as will Kacper Stepniak , who finished fourth in Frankfurt just 28 seconds behind Benito.
3,8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling and a marathon
The IRONMAN Kalmar maintains the full distance: 3,8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of cycling and 42,2 kilometers of running.
One of the most distinctive points of the course comes on the bike, when the triathletes cross the bridge connecting Kalmar to the island of Öland. The route is mostly flat, although its exposed sections can make the wind a significant factor.
Schedule and where to watch IRONMAN Kalmar 2026
IRONMAN Kalmar 2026 will take place on Saturday, August 15th . The professional start is scheduled for 06:45 AM.
The IRONMAN Pro Series broadcast will begin at 06:15 a.m. CEST . In Spain, it can be watched live on RTVE Play . It will also be available internationally on the official IRONMAN Pro Series website , the official IRONMAN YouTube channel , and DAZN.
To follow the race in real time, the splits, positions and progress of Antonio Benito and the rest of the participants can be consulted in the IRONMAN Tracker App , available for iOS and Android.
Kalmar is also the last IRONMAN-distance race in the Pro Series before the World Championship in Kona , scheduled for October 10. Prior to the World Championship, the IRONMAN 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice will still take place.
The IRONMAN 2026 professional calendar allows you to check the rest of the events scheduled for this season.
With his place for Kona already secured, Benito can face Kalmar with a different objective: to turn another good result into an important climb within the IRONMAN Pro Series.
This content has been created with the support of AI tools and reviewed by the Triathlon News editorial team.
