Ironman have announced that Olympic gold medallists Flora Duffy (BER) and Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) have been extended a special invitation to compete at the 2021 Supersapiens Ironman World Championship on October 9, 2021, in Kona as an Ironman professional triathlete qualifying exemption. Duffy and Blummenfelt have both already qualified for the 2021 70.3 World Championship.
“We congratulate Flora and Kristian on their fantastic performances in Tokyo and in celebrating their accomplishments, we are pleased to provide them the opportunity to carry their success to our world championship events. The extension of these invitations to both the male and female Olympic Gold Medal winners aligns marquee events within the overall triathlon event calendar, showcasing just how impressive our professional triathletes are across multiple distances,” said Andrew Messick, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Ironman Group. “After a very difficult stretch for the sporting world, we believe that offering these slots will help to continue to promote triathlon, including the accomplishment of those at the pinnacle of short course racing.”
Duffy was the winner of the 2020 Ironman 70.3 South Africa in Buffalo City while Blummenfelt has won the Ironman 70.3 Middle Eastern Championship in Bahrain three-straight times from 2017-19 and also finished fourth at the 2019 Ironman 70.3 World Championship held in Nice, France.