Gustav Iden sets new course record to claim Ironman World Championship in debut

KAILUA-KONA – The newest Ironman World Champion is not a man who minces his words.

“That was so freaking hard,” said Gustav Iden immediately after setting a new course record of 7:40:24 at the 2022 Ironman World Championship Saturday in Kona.

The 26-year-old Norwegian entered the run stage nearly six and a half minutes behind leader Sam Laidlow of France and proceeded to blaze a time of 2:36:15 in the marathon, shattering the previous course record by three and a half minutes.

With just under five miles left in the race, Iden finally passed Laidlow, ultimately beating the 23-year old Frenchman by exactly two minutes.

“I executed my plan quite well, actually,” said Iden of his late push to grab the lead. “I was supposed to really push from energy lab.

“Kristian (Blummenfelt) was pushing out the hill of energy lab. I waited a few minutes more and pushed when the wind changed. I think my plan was quite solid for a rookie, because apparently you can’t win here the first time.”

Blummenfelt, a fellow Norwegian who trains with Iden, has previously won the 2021 Ironman World Championship in St. George, Utah as well as the 2020 Olympic Gold Medal in the triathlon. He and Iden raced alongside each other for nearly the entirety of the race, only separating when Iden made his late charge with less than 10 miles to go.

“At the end of the energy lab, I decided ok, now it’s my time to go,” said Iden. “That was the plan the whole way.”

2022 marks the fastest field in the Ironman World Championship’s history. The top four finishers all surpassed the previous course record of 7:51:13 set by Jan Frodeno in 2019; Blummenfelt finished third in a time of 7:43:23, while Australia’s Max Neumann came in fourth, crossing the line in 7:44:44. Great Britain’s Joe Skipper rounded out the top five, crossing the finish line in a time of 7:54:05.

While Iden’s marathon performance stole the show, it was made necessary by Laidlow setting a new course record in the bike leg. Laidlow turned in a performance of 4:04:36 on the 112-mile bike ride, besting Cameron Wurf’s previous record of 4:09:06 set in 2016.

“Laidlow’s and Gustav’s were probably the best performances the sport has ever seen,” said Neumann after the race. “I don’t think it gets better than that, to be honest. To do it on the World Championship stage is pretty impressive. Kudos to those two blokes.”

Iden’s victory marks the second time in three days a triathlete making their Kona debut has claimed victory at the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run that is the Ironman World Championship, following Chelsea Sodaro’s win in the women’s race on Thursday.

Like Sodaro, Iden’s World Championship victory comes in just his second full-distance Ironman race.

While the up-and-comer is enjoying his new title as Ironman World Champion, the world may have to wait a couple years before seeing him race in Kona again.

“The Grand Final in the ITU (International Triathlon Union) circuit is three weeks before Kona,” said Iden. “Three weeks of preparation may be a bit too optimistic, even for us. My main goal now for the next few years is Paris ’24… Kristian obviously won his Olympic Gold, and I really, really, really want mine.”