Statement wins for Blummenfelt and Matthews

The IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong triathlon, the second stop of the Pro Series, delivered on its pre-race hype as both the men’s and women’s races served up nail-biting finishes that saw Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway bounce back from disappointment two weeks ago in Taupō to claim a statement victory in a new course best time, while Briton Kat Matthews, having asserted control early and leading for much of the day, had to dig deep on the run to hold off a fast‑finishing Grace Thek of Australia, who thrilled home crowds with a late charge on her home course.

With victory, Blummenfelt and Matthews claim $7,500 USD in prize money, 2,500 Pro Series points, and for Blummenfelt, qualification to the World Championship triathlon in Nice, France. Matthews had previously qualified for the world championships. There were six total slots on offer to professional athletes at this race.

In the men’s race, Blummenfelt blasted his way to victory in 3:30:25 – setting a new Geelong course best time by more than three minutes with a blistering 1:06:39 run. Last year’s winner Jelle Geens of Belgium had to settle for second in 3:31:23, with Hayden Wilde of New Zealand 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.”

The men wasted no time setting the pace in the swim, with Trent Thorpe of New Zealand surging clear early on a cool, calm morning in Geelong as the Australian duo of Josh Ferris and Jake Birtwhistle together with Pierre Le Corre of France 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.

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.

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, Matthews once again lived up to her billing as pre-race favourite, securing yet another Pro Series race victory. Her winning time of 4:06:14 put her just 36 seconds clear of Australia’s Grace Thek – who earned her ninth Geelong podium – with Canadian Tamara Jewett rounding out the podium in 4:15:26.

“I’m really happy, really satisfied with the back-to-back wins, it’s the perfect way to kick off a year. After New Zealand two weeks ago I actually felt better than I thought I would, but this race felt harder than I had hoped it would,” said Matthews.

“I think I had quite a good swim start, I really like the running in to the water, the traditional start, running, dive, dolphin dive, so I feel like I got myself in a good spot and then I felt comfortable straight away actually. I was sort of aware of what’s going on and I felt good, I felt really good in the swim, so really happy with that dynamic. I think the gap was just over a minute, maybe less than two, to Sophia, which is really good. 
 
“And then the bike I just felt really good, had really good legs. I got a bit tired, a bit lonely near the end and then on the run I really struggled. Five to 10k was a bit low, I was thinking, goodness, is this me done? But then I was able to rally, so I sort of took that confidence in the last couple of ks and I was like, yeah, I can run, it’s fine,” she said.

“The fans were great, there’s actually quite a few people out on the bike course, obviously a few locals maybe, but on the run, it’s just wonderful. I’ve done some training down the far end of the course so, I just felt really happy down there, lots of people cheering. To be honest, it’s the competitors, I feel like everyone was my mate out there, cheering me on.”

Sophia Green of Great Britain drove the women’s swim from the front, committing early and earning clear water as she exited first in 23:13 to open a decisive early gap. Matthews positioned herself well from the outset, sitting near the front and exiting in fourth, 1:29 down, while Briton Steph Clutterbuck was second out at +43 seconds but again struggled with dizziness through transition – an ongoing struggle caused by her Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).

Behind Matthews, Australians Grace Thek and Milan Agnew were closely matched at 24:48, Penny Slater also from Australia delivered a strong swim to emerge +1:39 back on the leader, and Canadian Tamara Jewett exited the swim +2:58, keeping herself well within touch as the women headed onto the bike.

Green set the early tempo on the bike with Matthews immediately committing to a solo chase, while a group containing Slater, Thek, Agnew, Clutterbuck and American Gabrielle Lumkes hovered more than a minute back. Matthews made her move decisively at 25km, catching and passing Green as she adjusted a bottle, before the pair rode together to the turnaround, with Thek just over two minutes adrift in third and Slater sixth at 2:18 down.

From there Matthews steadily asserted control, opening a 1:33 gap by 70km and leaving the chase pack more than four minutes in arrears as the kilometres ticked down. Matthews rode into T2 first in 2:14:09, shaving three seconds off the bike course best, with Green following 2:20 later and a five‑strong chase group – Thek, Slater, Clutterbuck, Agnew and Lumkes – arriving together nearly 4:30 down as the race headed onto the run.
 
Matthews hit the run with a commanding buffer, holding a 3:39 lead over Thek after 6km as the Australian moved past Green into second, but the toll of winning IRONMAN New Zealand two weeks earlier began to show as the kilometres ticked by.

After halfway, Matthews’ pace dipped and Thek steadily closed, cutting the deficit to under two minutes by 14km as Slater surged into third. The gap continued to shrink to less than 1:30 by 16km, before Matthews found another gear late, rallying over the final kilometres to keep Thek at bay as the Australian began to run out of road. Matthews broke the tape in 4:06:14, just 36 seconds clear of Thek, while Jewett once again carved through the field to claim the final podium spot 9:12 back, with Slater holding strong for fourth.

Top Five Female Professional Results – IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong

Top Five Male Professional Results – IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong