Kristian Blummenfelt digs deep on the run, wins Ironman 70.3 World Championship

ST. GEORGE — Kristian Blummenfelt was not going to be denied in St. George.

Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt wins the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, St. George, Utah, Oct. 29, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

The Norwegian was the first out of the water, the first off of the bike and then overcame a strong challenge from American Ben Kanute during the half-marathon run to win the 2022 Ironman 70.3 World Championship Saturday morning.

“It’s been a great three weeks here, I really enjoyed the time,” Blummenfelt said at the finish line.

Blummenfelt set a blistering pace at the head of the bicycle pack as soon as he got out of the water at the early morning swim at Sand Hollow Reservoir.

“Yeah, I decided to go cold for the first 20 or 30 minutes, not get any add-ons and decided to just push the power,” he described, adding that at first he wanted to try to put pressure on Magnus Ditlev and Gustav Iden early on during the bike race.

“I was pushing hard all the way,” Blummenfelt said.

Blummenfelt adds the 70.3 World Championship to his 2021 full Ironman World Championship that he won in St. George in May earlier this year. He is also an Olympic Gold Medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Norwegian actually trailed Kanute for much of the run, hanging behind Kanute’s shoulder at a couple of paces behind for the first three quarters of the half marathon.

Then as they left the Red Hills Golf Course and turned onto Diagonal, Blummenfelt passed the American and never looked back.

“I was surprised at first where Ben was,” Blummenfelt said. “I tried to hold back as long as possible before putting in the second gear.”

American Ben Kanute at the finish line after finishing 2nd in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, St. George, Utah, Oct. 29, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Blummenfelt’s winning time was 3 hours, 37 minutes, 12 seconds. Kanute finished second with his mark of 3:38:01.

“I put all of my focus on this race,” Kanute said. “I came out here early, spent time away from my family and just wanted to go out there and see what I could do. Just so happy to have a result.”

The American said he achieved a new level of fitness before the race, and his game plan was to keep up with the leaders on the bike before making his move on the run.

“I had great training, I didn’t want to put any limits on myself. I just went out there and took it,” Kanute said. “I was super focused, just trying to stay in the moment and honestly just enjoy the day, enjoy racing. That was the most fun I’ve had out on a race course in a long, long time.”

Rounding out the top five men’s professional class were Magnus Ditlev of Denmark (third, 3:39:52), Mika Noodt  (fourth, 3:40:51) and Frederic Funk, both of Germany, in fifth at 3:42:34.

For complete race results, go to the Ironman website.

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