Three Norwegians are on the podium of the Ironman World Championship – but at the top is the no-name

When do friends become enemies? During the final marathon, it soon became clear that this was the question facing the 2025 Men's Ironman World Championship in Nice. And Casper Stornes, the third and least known triathlete in the Norwegian training group, answered it: with about 20 kilometers to go.

At that moment, almost seven hours after the start on Sunday morning, Stornes left his friends, training partners, and fellow countrymen Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt behind. "An Ironman is decided in the last hour," they say. The 28-year-old confirmed this quip.

After the 3.8-kilometer swim off the Côte d'Azur and the 180 technically demanding kilometers on the bike, the three Norwegians switched to the 42.2-kilometer run almost simultaneously. They supported each other and encouraged each other. Until the friendship had to end – and each looked after himself.

But the deprivation of love was short-lived. Within five minutes, Stornes (winning time: 7 hours 51 minutes 39 seconds), then Iden, and finally Blummenfelt crossed the finish line, where they celebrated together.

The three Norwegians dreaming of sharing a podium finish at the World Championships was something they had always dreamed of. They were even brave enough to talk about it. But the fact that Casper Stornes ended up on top and broke the imaginary barrier with a time of under 2 hours and 30 minutes was hardly part of the favorites' script.

The best-attended Ironman World Championship in history – that's how the race in Nice was announced. The four world champions of the past four years were at the start: German Patrick Lange, Frenchman Sam Laidlow, and the two Norwegians Iden and Blummenfelt.

Before the race, Kristian Blummenfelt was the most-cited favorite. "Everyone expects me to win," said the most successful Ironman of the year so far, "and I expect to win too."

For years, he, along with Iden and Stornes, has devoted almost everything to triathlon training. Until this year, Olav Aleksander Bu coached the group; he had measured their bodies and equipment down to the smallest detail. Now, for the first time, the group is training independently. Apparently, with less focus on the complete measurement: Blummenfelt, who had visibly lost weight for the race with its many meters of cycling elevation, said he didn't know his weight. Such a thing would have been impossible before.

For Gustav Iden, the 2025 Ironman World Championships was a comeback race. In 2022 in Hawaii, he had outpaced his friend Blummenfelt on the run course. In recent years, however, Iden has struggled with personal and health issues. Yet it has always been the two of them—Iden and Blummenfelt—who have represented the Norwegian training group in public. Not Casper Stornes.

Sam Laidlow was the other favorite before the race after Blummenfelt. The Frenchman, who won the last Ironman World Championship in Nice in 2023 , finished fifth but wrote the story of the greatest fighter: The strong swimmer was expected to come out of the water early. But plagued by back problems, Laidlow suddenly stopped swimming and looked around, disoriented. He entered the transition zone several minutes behind the leaders.

With the fastest cycling time of 4 hours, 29 minutes, and 29 seconds, the Frenchman not only closed the gap but also took the lead – although he lost a lot of energy in the process. He and fourth-placed Belgian Marten Van Riel led the way onto the run. There, he was first overtaken by the three Norwegians and then by Van Riel just a few kilometers from the finish.

"You don't win an Ironman by swimming, but you can lose an Ironman by swimming." Another quip that was confirmed on Sunday, in this case by 26-year-old Laidlow.

Since 2023, the Ironman World Championship will no longer be held solely in Hawaii, but will alternate between Nice and the American island, with separate genders. In 2024, the men started in Hawaii, but this year, on October 11, the women will start. Organizers have split the competitions for financial reasons . This allows for larger starting fields in the amateur category and thus higher revenue. But in Ironman, the myth apparently holds value – starting next year, both genders will once again compete on the island where the Ironman was invented.

The Norwegian training group now consists of three Ironman World Champions. But only Gustav Iden won his world championship title in Hawaii. "If you win outside of Hawaii, people say, 'But you didn't win Hawaii,'" said Kristian Blummenfelt before the race in Nice.

He'll get another chance next year. Like Gustav Iden and Casper Stornes—friends, training partners, and competitors for the best Ironman of the year.