Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway made a late race surge on the run to pass Jelle Geens of Belgium and finish in 1:42:55 with a 10 seconds margin on Jeens at WTS Yokohama. Perhaps of greater drama, Morgan Pearson of the U.S. came back from 35th place on the 7th lap of the bike leg with a second-fastest 29:30 run to take 3rd place at WTS Yokohama, earning the first Olympic slot for the U.S. men in 2021.
Pearson led all his fellow Americans – Kevin McDowell [11th], Matthew McElroy [24th], and Eli Hemming [DNF].
“It was a breakaway pack at the start and I was in the middle and feeling nice, trying to stay relaxed, but with three laps to go [on the 40-kilometer bike leg] the packs came together and I was pushed further back than I’d like to be,” admitted Pearson after he fell to 35th place on the 7th lap of the bike. “I knew I needed a top eight and chasing Alex Yee I knew I couldn’t be conservative chasing an Olympic place.”
Pearson, who came into the momentous race mourning the death of his brother in March, dedicated the race to his sibling. “I had to take a month out in March when my older brother passed away,” said Pearson. “But I felt he gave me the boost I needed. Hopefully he will come with me to the Olympics will be there with me too.”
The Norwegian and the Belgian fought fiercely through the first 9 kilometers of the run before Blummenfelt drew away to win by 10 seconds over Geens and 17 seconds ahead of Pearson.
“It felt good to be racing again,” Blummenfelt told ITU media regarding the pandemic hiatus. “There were some nerves on the start line up against those guys, but it was a great result here in Yokohama.”
Blummenfelt rose to the occasion with a race-best 29:26 10k run split – 12 seconds better than Geens and he drew much confidence from his performance. “Starting an Olympic year with a good performance is great, but this is the soft test for what will be tougher conditions coming up in the summer. I didn’t know where I was off the bike [4th place], or if the other guys were struggling. But I felt like I had control throughout the run and it was really nice to take my second WTS series win.”
Geens was exuberant with his silver medal finish. "This is a step better for me,” he told ITU media. “It’s been more than six months since the last race so it has been a long but good training period. I’m super happy with second but also a bit disappointed as I felt I did all the work and Kristian was struggling early in the run. But now I know that wasn’t the case and just what Kristian can do. I had to mentally recover from a bad start of the swim [over 50th place and 59 seconds behind the leader] and I have to thank [fellow Norwegian] Gustav Iden for helping us close the gap on the bike quite quickly. That first 200m almost screwed up my race but I’m sure that won’t happen again.”
Pearson’s finish was his first WTS podium and it was hard earned against tough opposition. Behind the American were several stars – two-time WTS World Champion Vincent Luis [6th], Great Britain’s Alex Yee [4th] Marten Van Riel [7th], Leo Bergere [8th], Gustav Iden [9th], Jonathan Brownlee (23rd] and Henri Schoeman [5th].
The second and perhaps the third U.S. Men’s Olympic slots will be chosen by the USA Triathlon Athlete Selection Committee which may nominate at their discretion up to two athletes.
WTS Yokohama
Yokohama, Japan
May 15, 2021
S 1.5k B 40k / R 10k
1. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) S 18:16 T1 00:55 B 53:58 T2 00:22 R 29:26 TOT 1:42:55
2. Jelle Geens (BEL) S 18:54 T2 00:54 B 53:21 T2 00:20 R 29:38 TOT 1:43:05
3. Morgan Pearson (USA) S 18:18 T1 00:55 B 54:09 T2 00:28 R 29:30 TOT 1:43:12
4. Alex Yee (GBR) S 18:27 T1 00:57 B 53:45 T2 00:21 R 29:49 TOT 1:43:17
5. Henri Schoeman (RSA) S 18:27 T1 00:53 B 54:01 T2 00:26 R 29:51 TOT 1:43:26
6. Vincent Luis (FRA) S 18:00 T1 00:58 B 54:12 T2 00:21 R 30:06 TOT 1:43:35
7. Marten Van Riel (BEL) S 18:01 T1 00:59 B 54:10 T2 00:24 R 30:04 TOT 1:43:37
8. Leo Bergere (FRA) S 18:19 T1 00:54 B 53:55 T2 00:24 R 30:10 TOT 1:43:37
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) S 18:47 T1 00:55 B 53:25 T2 00:25 R 30:08 TOT 1:43:39
10. Jonas Schomburg (GER) S 18:05 T1 00:55 B 54:09 T2 00:20 R 30:13 TOT 1:43:40
11. Kevin McDowell (USA) S 18:31 T1 00:56 B 53:43 T2 00:23 R 30:09 TOT 1:43:41
24. Matthew McElroy (USA) S 18:312 T1 00:57 B 53:46 T2 00:23 R 32:05 TOT 1:45:41
37. Ben Kanute (USA) S 18:15 T1 00:53 B 543:10 T2 00:24 R 34:14 TOT 1:47:53
DNF Eli Hemming (USA)
