Casper Stornes Wins IRONMAN World Championship, Leads All-Norway Podium

Stornes won the first world title of his career in 7:51:39. Photo: Eric Wynn

Casper Stornes won the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France, on Sunday, breaking the tape in a course record of 7:51:39. This is not only Stornes’s first IRONMAN world title, but also the first IRONMAN victory of his career. His training partners and friends Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt rounded out the podium in second and third, making it a Norwegian sweep in France.

Diving into the Mediterranean

Switzerland’s Andrea Salvisberg was the first man out of the water, recording a 45:11 split. He had a lot of company as he made his way to T1, running to his bike with 11 other men within 13 seconds of the lead. That group included Stornes, Germany’s Jonas Schomburg and Belgium’s Marten Van Riel.

The second group featured the likes of Blummenfelt, Magnus Ditlev (DEN), along with American’s Rudy von Berg and Matthew Marquardt. They made their way to T1 with a gap of about a minute to make up.

Andrea Salvisberg led out of the water in Nice. Photo: Eric Wynn

The biggest surprise of the morning came when Sam Laidlow fell off the pace in the swim. Laidlow routinely exits the water in or around the lead, but he didn’t make it to the beach with the top men, nor with the first chasers. By the time he made it to the swim finish with the second chase group, two minutes had elapsed, presenting him with a much larger deficit than he is used to facing so early in a race. Iden was also in Laidlow’s group.

A 112-Mile Chase-Down

Early on in the bike, a trio of Van Riel, Schomburg and South Africa’s Jamie Riddle took control of the race, quickly moving to the front and separating themselves from the rest of the fastest swimmers.

In T1, Laidlow could be seen stretching out his back. It didn’t look good for a bit, but he fixed whatever was bugging him, because once he was on the bike, it was like nothing had happened to him in the first place. He left T1 in 35th place and almost three minutes off the lead, but by the 30-mile mark, he was sitting in fourth, 1:44 back and riding with Blummenfelt, Stornes and Iden.

Sam Laidlow had the fastest bike split of the day with his 4:29:29 ride. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

The Norwegians, Laidlow and Australia’s Nick Thompson worked together to chase down the leading three men, but Van Riel, Riddle and Schomburg were a pesky bunch on the bike course, and they were not ready to give up their podium positions too easily.

It took some yo-yoing before the leaders finally cracked. At one point, the chase group climbed within a minute of the front, but then Van Riel, Riddle and Schomburg dropped the hammer and opened the lead up to two minutes.

It was around 70 miles when the race changed. The athletes hit a long descent, and, in their respective groups, Van Riel, Laidlow and Blummenfelt all had the same idea: surge. At the front of the race, Van Riel dropped Riddle and Schomburg. Further back, Laidlow and Blummenfelt left behind Iden, Stornes and Thompson.

Marten Van Riel had an impressive ride, holding off a number of chasers. Photo: Eric Wynn

After 94 miles, the charging duo caught Van Riel, but unlike Riddle and Schomburg (who both faded considerably after being dropped and caught), the Belgian refused to go away. He maintained his position at the front for the next 18 miles, riding into T2 with the lead. However, he had company nearby — not only Laidlow and Blummenfelt, but also Stornes, Iden and Thompson.

Laidlow recorded the quickest ride of the day, posting a 4:29:29 split before carrying on to what turned out to be a wildly exciting run.

Running Away with the Win

If this recap feels jerky or all over the place, that’s because that is how the race played out. It felt like almost every time an athlete made what appeared to be a decisive move, he was reeled back in by one or multiple competitors.

It came down to the marathon to crown the IRONMAN world champion. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

The start of the marathon saw three groups of two leave T2. Van Riel and Laidlow were shoulder to shoulder, followed by Iden and Blummenfelt 26 seconds back, with Thompson and Stornes 39 and 42 seconds behind the lead.

After a strong effort for much of the race, Thompson faded behind as the other five men converged into one big group after four miles. The group ran together for a few miles, but Iden and Blummenfelt ultimately dropped the other three.

The training partners put a lot of time between themselves and the other three men very quickly, and it looked like it could be a two-man race for the final 18 miles or so. Stornes had other plans, however, and he ran at a blistering pace along Nice’s seaside Promenade des Anglais as he tried to chase down his fellow Norwegians.

Iden, Blummenfelt and Stornes led the way in the back half of the run. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

At the half-marathon point, Stornes caught Iden and Blummenfelt, and for the next couple of miles, they ran side by side before Iden fell behind. Once again, it looked like a two-man, two-Norwegian race to the finish.

With nine miles to go, Stornes dropped Blummenfelt, and less than a mile later, he was 27 seconds clear. Then, seemingly out of nowhere Iden caught a fading Blummenfelt, but Blummenfelt somehow found the strength to hang onto him. A few miles later, it was Blummenfelt (who was visibly in pain, grimacing with every step) who dropped Iden, only for Iden to eventually catch and pass him once again.

In the end, Stornes ran a 2:29:25 marathon, putting two and a half minutes between himself and Iden and winning the the world title in his first crack at the event. Iden finished in second, recording a 2:32:15 marathon, and Blummenfelt finished another two and a half minutes back, stumbling across the line after truly giving everything he had.

The Norwegians pushed themselves to the limit. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

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