IRONMAN New Zealand 2026: if Blummenfelt did not exist, it would have to be invented

Kristian Blummenfelt arrived in Taupō, home of IRONMAN New Zealand, as defending champion and favourite. However, the Norwegian returns home after a sixth place, with 8:01:02 in the time trial, and after having lost an extension of the aerobar on the bike and having vomited in the first kilometers of the race on foot.

In any other circumstance, a triathlete in that situation would have had plenty of arguments to give up. Gustav Iden and Casper Stornes' partner did not: he finished the race, validated his place for Kona and left that for everyone to interpret as they wish.

The 42nd edition of IRONMAN New Zealand, the first test of the IRONMAN Pro Series 2026, had a very different winner than expected in the men's category: Trevor Foley.

In the women's category, Kat Matthews did not give - as expected - options to her rivals, and the British took the test by pulverizing the circuit record.

Kyle Smith, to all from the first moment

Kyle Smith came out of the water in the lead with Pierre Le Corre and soon made it clear that he intended to do the race in his own way.

the New Zealander, who had not competed in an IRONMAN since 2022, rode his bike with an authority that left little room for interpretation.

At 45 kilometers he was already three minutes ahead of the rest. Behind, Blummenfelt had come back from the chasing group to place third, but the loss of the right coupling forced him to continue with a compromised position for a good part of the segment. To further complicate the situation, since nothing can be thrown in the race at the risk of disqualification, he carried it in his hand for a while before being able to pass it on to someone on the shoulder.

He kept pedaling.

Frederic Funk was the one who best responded to Smith's pace in the second half of the cycle and entered Q2 3:39 behind the leader. Blummenfelt finished third in 5:51, with Mike Phillips and Trevor Foley less than ten seconds behind, and Le Corre another 35 seconds behind. It looked like a foot race between Smith, Funk, and Blummenfelt.

It wasn’t.

Funk collapsed almost from the first kilometer of the marathon and ended up dropping out. Blummenfelt threw up shortly after leaving transition and his pace dropped until it became clear he wasn't going to be able to fight for the podium.

Smith, meanwhile, was still pulling from the front more than five minutes ahead of Foley with eleven kilometers to go. The race looked like his.

At 15 miles, Smith stopped to stretch in the right hamstring area. The cramp was evident and the advantage began to disappear at a speed that left no doubt about how it was going to end.

Foley passed it shortly after mile 29. Behind, Matt Hanson and Le Corre also overtook the New Zealander, who finished off the podium after having dominated for hours.

Foley had to manage the pressure from Le Corre, which approached until less than a minute, but the 26-year-old American responded and opened the gap in the last kilometers: he crossed the line in 7:46:44 with a marathon of 2:35:42.

It's his second IRONMAN victory after Lake Placid 2024.

Le Corre, in his debut in the distance, was second in 7:48:26. Hanson, 40, finished third with a new demonstration of his potential in running: a segment record with a time of 2:34:49. Jack Moody, on the other hand, took fourth place and the last direct slot for Kona.

Matthews, no discussion

In the female category the script was different from the beginning. Fenella Langridge came out of the water first in 50:51, with Lotte Wilms, Hannah Berry and Rebecca Clarke within five seconds.

Kat Matthews made it to T1 with a 2:39 deficit alongside defending champion Regan Hollioake.

On the bike Matthews did not wait: he climbed into the front group before too much time passed and stood next to Berry and Wilms, who was the one who resisted best. Berry suffered a puncture or chain fall that forced her to stop, but she recovered and entered T2 first, with Matthews at six seconds and Wilms at thirteen. Hollioake arrived five minutes later.

The foot race had no history. Matthews came out of transition first and in the first two kilometers he was already 30 seconds ahead of Berry.

At eight kilometres the difference was two minutes over the New Zealander and more than three minutes over Wilms. At no point in the journey were there any signs that anyone could reach her.

He crossed the finish line in 8:28:55, more than ten minutes short of the previous circuit record, which was held by Chelsea Sodaro.

Berry was second in 8:35:43, also below the previous record. Wilms third with 8:39:57. The surprise of the day was Tamara Jewett, who finished fourth with a marathon of 2:42:40, a circuit record in the foot race, faster than all the professional men except the first four.