Sam Long gets a spot at Ironman European Championship Frankfurt, adds his name to stellar field
Kristian Blummenfelt looks to validate Kona slot after disappointing finish at the Olympics
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
We knew that Tokyo gold medalist Kristian Blummenfelt was all set to join the impressive field at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt this Sunday, Aug. 18, but look who’s also planning on joining the fun (after saying he wouldn’t try to earn a Kona spot) – American Sam Long is a late addition to the field.
Long had been on the wait list for the race – the Ironman Pro Series events have been filling fast – but has now been added to the field. This is a turnaround for the American, who had originally planned to race T100 San Francisco and the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships in Cairns, Australia on back-to-back weekends, but ended up pulling out of the Australian race.
At the time Long said he would concentrate on the T100 World Triathlon Tour. Â He joins a long list of athletes who have signed contracts with the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) to compete in the T100 series who are also looking to race either in Nice or Kona, including reigning Kona champ, Lucy Charles-Barclay.
Long joins a stacked field that includes the leader of the Ironman Pro Series, Matt Hanson (USA), two-time Ironman world champion Patrick Lange (GER), Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and the winner of the Ironman World Championship in St. George (officially the 2021 worlds that took place in 2022) Kristian Blummenfelt and Braden Currie (NZL). Other big names on the start list for the men’s only race (the women’s European Championship was held in Hamburg in June) include Ironman Lake Placid winner Trevor Foley (USA) and Australia’s pro cyclist/ pro triathlete Cam Wurf.
Ironman Pro Series
This is the final full-distance Ironman Pro Series race before the two world championship races in Nice and Kona. The race will be streamed live “across multiple platforms for viewers around the world including proseries.ironman.com, YouTube, Outside TV, DAZN, hr–fernsehen in Germany and L’Équipe in France, among others.” Fans in Canada and the United States can watch the live coverage for free on Outside TV. Sunday’s coverage starts at 6 AM local time (12 AM EST).
The race offers 5,000 Ironman Pro Series points for the winner, and there’s a total prize purse of US$87,500 on offer. There are 88 pros on the start list for Sunday’s race.
