“It was a fun battle to get out on top of!” Kristian Blummenfelt storms to victory at Ironman 70.3 Geelong

IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong saw a thrilling win in the men’s race for Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) as the second race of the Experience Oman IRONMAN Pro Series took place this weekend.

Blummenfelt bounced back from disappointment two weeks ago in Taupō to claim a statement victory in a new course best time, With victory he receives $7,500 USD in prize money, 2,500 Experience Oman IRONMAN Pro Series points, and qualification to the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon in Nice, France.

What happened in the men’s race?

In the men’s race, Blummenfelt blasted his way to victory in 3:30:25 – setting a new IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong course best time by more than three minutes with a blistering 1:06:39 run. Last year’s winner Jelle Geens (BEL) had to settle for second in 3:31:23, with Hayden Wilde (NZL) rounding out the podium in 3:31:51.

“I’m pretty stoked, it was a fun battle to get out on top of. It always brings more to the race when both Hayden and Jelle are turning up, two athletes I respect a lot, and it tastes even better when I’m able to grab the tape,” said Blummenfelt. “I’m very happy with how I felt on the run, it felt like I was flying there, quite the contrast to how it was two weeks ago in in Taupō. It brings a good momentum going into the next one in Oceanside in six days. 

“It was on from the gun I would say, I think it was mainly Hayden who was putting the pressure on the bike, and they even got a gap there on the second lap and I was just hoping that I could have a solid run, but I didn’t expect to be feeling that good on the run,” he said. “The plan is to travel tomorrow morning, and just try to hopefully, get in some easy training, maybe squeeze in one intense session in each discipline, maybe Wednesday or Thursday, just to flush things through, and then hopefully be good to go again for next week.”

What happened in the swim

The men wasted no time setting the pace in the swim, with Trent Thorpe (NZL) surging clear early on a cool, calm morning in Geelong as Josh Ferris (AUS), Jake Birtwhistle (AUS) and Pierre Le Corre (FRA) worked hard to stay attached while a powerful chase group featuring Geens, Wilde, and Blummenfelt kept the pressure on as the pace strung the field out. Thorpe exited first in 21:21 with Le Corre just five seconds adrift, while Geens led the marquee trio out of the water in fifth (22:13), with Wilde out in eighth (22:15), and Blummenfelt three seconds behind in ninth.

What happened on the bike

Foggy conditions greeted athletes early on the bike as Wilde hit the front quickly and continued to drive the front group alongside Birtwhistle, Geens, Ferris, Le Corre, Thorpe and Blummenfelt, with the pace already biting by 30km as Blummenfelt slipped 19 seconds back. Geens asserted himself at the front before Wilde began attacking after halfway, a move that fractured the race as Ferris and Blummenfelt lost contact, Le Corre withdrew and Thorpe succumbed to cramps. Wilde’s sustained pressure proved decisive late into the bike, opening a near 30‑second gap by 80km before he powered into T2 first in 1:56:03, smashing the previous bike course best by almost two minutes, with Geens following 57 seconds later, Birtwhistle five seconds further back, and Blummenfelt limiting his losses to arrive fourth at 1:33 down.

What happened on the run

Despite dropping his bike through T2, Wilde hit the run course first though it was Geens who gained early ground with a lightning‑fast transition, immediately trimming the deficit as Wilde held a measured gap of around 45 seconds through the opening kilometres. Blummenfelt, meanwhile, launched into the run a man on a mission, rapidly cutting his deficit from 1:30 to under a minute within 5km before surging past Geens by 8km and closing to just 22 seconds off the lead. Blummenfelt caught Wilde at 10km and the pair ran shoulder‑to‑shoulder before Blummenfelt began to break clear, stretching the elastic with relentless pace as Geens hovered dangerously close behind.

Geens moved into second around 15km, but Blummenfelt was already gone, opening a 55‑second lead by 18km before storming home to take the tape in a run time of 1:06:39, more than a minute faster than the previous run course best. Geens claimed second 59 seconds back, with Wilde third a further 28 seconds behind, as all three dipped under the previous course‑best overall time, Blummenfelt stopping the clock at 3:30:25 to rewrite the Geelong record books.

In the women’s race, Kat Matthews (GBR) stormed to victory – read the full report here.