The Norwegian triathlete Kristian Blummenfelt and the British triathlete Kat Matthews have made history this Sunday by becoming the first man and the first woman in history to go under seven and eight hours respectively to complete one of the most demanding sports competitions in the world in the Sub7Sub8 event held in Germany
This milestone represents the last great feat for Blummenfelt in about 12 months in which the 28-year-old Norwegian triathlete has been proclaimed Olympic triathlon champion, triathlon world champion and Ironman world champion, and who is now also the first man in completing an Ironman in less than 7 hours by achieving it in 6:44:26.
To achieve this feat Blummenflet had to overcome the 48 minutes it took him to swim the 3.8 kilometers (he was expected to do it in 45). In the 180-kilometer bike section, Blummenfelt rode in 3:24:22, almost 25 minutes under the expected time. And in the 42.2 kilometers on foot, Blummenfelt completed them in 2:30:50 minutes (he was expected to do it in 2:25:00) to stop the clock at 6:44:26 and make history. Blummenfelt was not the only one to go under seven hours, since Englishman Joe Skipper completed the course in 6:47:37.
Blummenfelt himself analyzed this historical milestone in this way. “It was hard but we did it. It has been two years of planning with my team. It is crucial to have a great team to see that together we have done a great performance. I had a good pace and maintained my calories, but I also had difficulties because I had cramps after the 10-kilometre walk on the bike route. I felt the effort of the bike on the walk, but it was an incredible race.”
Blummenfelt was not the only one who made history in Dresden, since the British Kat Matthews became the first woman to go under 8 hours in an Ironman with a record of 7:31:54. Matthews was not the only woman to achieve it, since the Swiss Nicola Spirig also surpassed this barrier by stopping the clock in 7:34:19.