Norwegians eyeing a podium sweep in Ironman World Championship

Norway’s top triathletes have rarely been short of confidence, and much of it has been with good reason in recent years, having swept the board of titles from the Olympics to Ironman.

But if the plans come to fruition on the Côte d’Azur on Sunday, it would be the most audacious achievement yet, as the Bergen-based trio of Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden and Casper Stornes eye a podium sweep at the Ironman World Championship in Nice.

“We are dreaming about taking a one-two-three, but it is going to be tricky for all three of us to have maximum days,” said Blummenfelt at the pre-race press conference. 

“We all have potential to get on the podium and fight for the win, and working as a group might take the pressure off, but I hope that I’m the one waking up with amazing legs and ready to go.”

After groundbreaking years in 2021 and 2022 that brought success in Tokyo, a World Triathlon title and Ironman world titles over the full and half distance, the 30-year-old was unable to defend his Olympic crown and then struggled in Hawaii last October too.

Yet, having won regional Ironman titles in Texas and Frankfurt this season, and getting familiar with the testing course having spent the last eight weeks in the south of France, he heads to the start on Sunday as one of the favourites.

“It was two big goals last year. [Paris] didn’t go to plan, which was a shame because you only get that opportunity to race in front of such a crowd in France once in life. Then I came to Hawaii and that race didn’t go to plan either – I was struggling… for the last 35km of the run. It was definitely some fuel to the bonfire of motivation.”

Blummenfelt picked out the biggest threats as France’s Sam Laidlow, winner in Nice in 2023, and reigning champion Patrick Lange of Germany.

While Iden hasn’t had the same level of results this year, he comes into the race both with his lucky hat and more confidence than at any time since winning the Ironman World Championship on debut in Kona in 2022.

“This is my true comeback,” he said. “Since winning in Kona, I’ve been trying, but my best has not been nearly good enough. I feel things are beginning to change.

“In Frankfurt, I was nine minutes behind Kristian. It was 11 weeks before this race, so more than a minute a week to catch up is quite a job, but I’m feeling confident.”

Stornes is the least heralded of the trio, but is also in form. A third-place finish in Frankfurt, one spot ahead of Iden and with the day’s fastest run, sets him up well for his debut.

While a podium sweep is unlikely, it’s not unprecedented. With Stornes the winner, the trio achieved it in a World Series race in Bermuda in 2018 – the first time the top three spots had been filled by athletes from the same nation in a men’s race at that level.

They repeated the feat later that year at the Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship in Bahrain, this time with Blummenfelt taking victory.

A one-nation podium has also been achieved multiple times at the Ironman World Championship, notably by the USA in its formative years and most recently Germany in 2016, through Jan Frodeno, Sebastian Kienle and Lange.

It’s unlikely the Norwegians will have everything their own way. Lange, now 39, is looking for a fourth Ironman World title, which would leave only Dave Scott and Mark Allen, both six-time winners, ahead of him. But he thinks he may need to break new ground to achieve it.

“It will be the first time the eight-hour barrier will fall in Nice, so that must be your goal if you want to take victory,” he said, with Laidlow posting 8:06:22 for his win on the same course in 2023. “It will be a really fast race in the first two to three hours and can be make or break.

“But that’s not a tactic I want to play. I won’t cook myself on the first mountain. I think the real racing starts at six hours. That’s where it counts.”