Blummenfelt makes Epic Ironman Debut with Fastest Ever IM Time
The Norwegian Viking is at it again! Not satisfied with winning the Olympic and WTCS world title, Kristian Blummenfelt decides to make an epic debut in the full Ironman Cozumel with the fastest ever IM time of 7:21:12. Unbelievable!
One would believe that this was all Norse mythology and Blummenfelt was Thor the thunder god unrelentingly pursing his foes with a mountain-crushing thunderous hammer laying waste to all before him.
Today race was only meant to be pre-prep for his goal of winning the Ironman World Championships but as if to rub salt into the wound’s he then goes and eclipses Jan Frodeno’s 7:27:53 at the Tri Battle Royale earlier this year.
The purists among the Ironman brigade are already lighting up the social media feeds with foul play due to the charitable down-current swim in the Mexican waters of Cozumel.
Nevertheless, this was not all about a record-breaking time as much as the manner in which he won. Exiting the swim and out of T1 onto the bike section Blummenfelt was in the company of 14 other world class triathletes that included pre-race favourites such as Patrik Nilsson (SWE), Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) and Ruedi Wild (SUI). At the half-way point it was Nilsson and Blummenfelt who started to pull away and at 166k the two of them had a lead of some 7 minutes over their closest rivals.
For reasons unknown yet, Nilsson could not keep with Blummenfelt and began to fade and by the time the Norwegian hit T2 he had over an 8-minute lead over the chasing pack going into the marathon.
Now this would really be the test-bed for Blummenfelt. Even with his never-say-die attitude would the distance of marathon be a step too far. He may have been stepping into unknown territory but put a run challenge in front of the Norwegian and he appears to morph into a Duracell Bunny and last up to six times longer than all the other athletes around him.
Blummenfelt hangs tough in every race he enters and just to prove the point, he did not just maintain his lead he pulled away from the chasing pack, running a phenomenal 2:35:24 to take the win in a new (unofficial) IM record of 7:21:12.
Wild (SUI) ran through to take second, with Schuster (GER) taking third spot.
Blummenfelt’s achievement will now have the pundits saying the same thing – who is faster Frodeno or Blummenfelt. The 2022 Kona IRONMAN World Championship in October is starting to have all the hallmarks of a mouth-watering clash between two giants of the sport.
