Blummenfelt, Ryf surge ahead of field, win 2021 Ironman World Championship

ST. GEORGE — It was a long time coming for the 2021 Ironman World Champions, but when Kristian Blummenfelt and Daniela Ryf crossed the finish line to win the respective men’s and women’s races on Saturday afternoon in St. George, the wait was well worth it.

2021 Ironman World Championships, St. George, Utah, May 7, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

The iconic 140.6-mile race, billed as the world’s greatest athletic endurance test, was originally scheduled to be run in Kona, Hawaii, its home since the event’s inception more than 40 years ago.

But for the first time in the race’s history, due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s Ironman World Championship was postponed, rescheduled and relocated to St. George.

Some 2,880 athletes competed in Saturday’s championship, which started off with an early morning 2.4-mile swim at Sand Hollow Reservoir, transitioned to a 112-mile bike ride through Hurricane, Washington City, and St. George, and then finished with a marathon 26.2-mile run in and around downtown St. George.

Although the weather was hot, with temperatures hovering in the mid- to high 80s, the wind was mild, with just a hint of a light breeze most of the day.

Racers competed in the dry desert climate with enthusiasm as Southern Utah rolled out the red carpet for the first Ironman World Championship staged since 2019.

Emblazoned on the event’s T-shirts, signage and various other merchandise was the word “Kumukahi,” which is Hawaiian for “a new beginning.” The event will return to Kona in October for the 2022 Ironman World Championship.

Although the pro racers were all finished by mid-afternoon, age-group competitors are expected to be crossing the finish line until well after dark. The last three racers were observed moving through Royal Oaks Park shortly before midnight.

Men’s Pro Race

Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt trailed after the swim and the bike, then was able to make his move into the lead with about 10 miles left in the run. After that he never looked back and no one was going to catch him.

Men’s winner Kristian Blummenfelt crosses the finish line of the 2021 Ironman World Championship, St. George, Utah, May 7, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

“That was a tough day, a brutal course,” Blummenfelt said at the finish line, echoing many of his fellow competitors about the difficulty of the race in St. George.

“It felt kind of tough to get going in the swim,” Blummenfelt added after he finished the 140.6-mile course in seven hours, 49 minutes and 16 seconds.

“Going out on the bike was hard but luckily I was able to jump on the train and we were surging up the hills,” the Norwegian said.

Blummenfelt said he was nervous with New Zealand’s Braden Currie cruising so well in front of him during the first 10 kilometers of the run.

“Braden was running so strong, we were running at the same pace but maybe faster than I should,” Blummenfelt said. “I was kind of relieved coming back again halfway through and seeing that I was catching up, catching up.”

“Luckily the last 5K was downhill and a little bit easier,” he added. “But that was a tough course.”

Blummenfelt spoke for all his fellow competitors when he talked about the supportive crowds in St. George.

“It’s so good to be back in an Ironman World Championship. To feel so welcome as we do in St. George is just fantastic,” Blummenfelt said. “It’s been great being here the last three weeks, seeing how the community is behind it. Definitely a great event to host a world championship.”

Pre-race favorite Gustav Iden, the reigning 70.3 Ironman World Champion and Blummenfelt’s teammate, had to drop out of Saturday’s event due to lingering health issues. Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, another pre-race favorite, also did not participate in the race.

But Iden predicted the results during Thursday’s press conference, when he said that he thought Blummenfelt had the best chance of winning on Saturday.

2021 Ironman World Championship, St. George, Utah, May 7, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Coming in second place was Canada’s Lionel Sanders, no stranger to St. George or to fantastic finishes here. Sanders thrilled the crowd when he overcame Currie in the last few moments right before the finish line, finishing with a time of 7:54:03.

“That was the most insane race I think I’ve ever participated in. It was like a giant individual time trial,” Sanders said at the finish line. “Everyone played to their strengths, to the best of their ability.”

Sanders won the Ironman 70.3 in St. George in May last year after a sprint to the finish against American Sam Long led to a five-second victory.

Then on Saturday Sanders found the fuel leftover to pass Currie and beat him by 16 seconds.

“Huge hats off to Braden. That was an amazing battle,” Sanders said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Sanders kept a steady approach in all phases of the race.

“I didn’t take anything for granted. I didn’t think I’d catch anybody,” Sanders said. “This race my goal was just to execute my absolute best performance in the swim, the bike and the run.” 

The first two men swimmers emerge from the water at the 2021 Ironman World Championship, Hurricane, Utah, May 7, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Currie was strong on the bicycle and parlayed that into an early big lead in the run, but he tired and was overtaken and finished in third at 7:54:19.

“That was incredible. An amazing performance,” Currie said after crossing the line, fatigue obvious from his exertion in the run. He used an excellent swim and bike to gain the lead before Blummenfelt and Sanders caught him during the exhausting run.

“Everything felt my way, really, I had a great swim,” Currie said. “We had a fantastic group on the bike. It was so honest, so consistent. You could just see how we rolled away from them.”

Rounding out the top five men’s pro finishers were American Chris Leiferman and German Florian Angert.

The top five pro men’s finishers and their times are as follows. To see complete official results, visit the results page on the Ironman website.

  1. Kristian Blummenfelt, NOR, 7:49:16.
  2. Lionel Sanders, CAN, 7:54:03.
  3. Braden Currie, NZL, 7:54:19.
  4. Chris Leiferman, USA, 7:57:51.
  5. Florian Angert, DEU, 7:59:35.

Women’s Pro Race

Daniela Ryf of Switzerland won her fifth Ironman World Championship in convincing fashion, outdistancing runner-up Kat Matthews of Great Britain by just over nine minutes.

Daniela Ryf finishes the bike leg of the 2021 Ironman World Championship, St. George, Utah, May 7, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Ryf crossed the finish line in 8:34:59 in claiming her first world title since winning the race at Kona, Hawaii four years in a row from 2015-18.

The 2019 winner was Anne Haug of Germany, who finished third in St. George on Saturday.

“I’m just so stoked to bring it together today,” Ryf said during an interview shortly after crossing the finish line Saturday afternoon.

“The swim was tough,” Ryf added. “And then, on the bike path, I was pushing it and it was actually really fun. I thought, even on the bike, even if I’m not going to win, I had fun today. And that’s really important. I just enjoyed it.”

Ryf was the fourth swimmer to exit the water at the end of the first leg at Sand Hollow, but took the lead early in the 112-mile bike ride. By the end of the second leg, she had built a lead of several minutes. She then kept her lead throughout the third leg, finishing the 26.2-mile run in just under three hours.

Top three female finishers, 2021 Ironman World Championship, St. George, Utah, May 7, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Matthews, the second-place finisher, posted an overall time of 8:43:39. Third-place Haug was four minutes behind Matthews, with a time of 8:47:03.

All three commented on how much they appreciated the support of the St. George community, including hundreds of volunteers and thousands of spectators that lined the course at almost every turn.

Ryf, Matthews and Haug also congratulated each other as they received medals and flowers atop the medals podium.

The top five pro women’s finishers and their times are as follows. To see complete official results, visit the results page on the Ironman website.

  1. Daniela Ryf, CHE, 8:34:59.
  2. Kat Matthews, GBR, 8:43:49.
  3. Anne Hauf, DEU, 8:47:03.
  4. Skye Moench, USA, 8:55:21.
  5. Ruth Astle, GBR, 9:00:09.

Check out St. George News’ earlier live coverage for moment to moment reporting on the triathlon.

St. George News writers JEFF RICHARDS and VIN CAPPIELLO contributed to this report.

Updated May 8, 1 p.m. to include a photo of the final three finishers and a sentence stating when they were seen passing through Royal Oaks Park.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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