Kristian Blummenfelt says he can win Olympic gold in 2028 on The Rich Roll Podcast

On a recent episode of The Rich Roll Podcast, Norwegian triathlon star Kristian Blummenfelt said he has unfinished business at the Olympic Games and believes he could still compete for a second gold medal in 2028 in Los Angeles. The 30-year-old is an Olympic and Ironman champion, and 2024 saw him drop from full-distance to short-course racing in an attempt to medal at the Paris Games. He fell short of that goal, but the world might see him shoot for it once again in four more years.

 

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Disappointment in Paris

At the Paris Olympics this summer, Blummenfelt looked to become the first triathlete to go from winning Olympic gold to an Ironman world title and then dropping back down to win another medal at the Games. The very fact that he was able to qualify for the Olympics after making the jump to Ironman racing was impressive and inspiring, so aiming for a medal was wildly ambitious.

In 2021, Blummenfelt had an incredible stretch of races, winning gold in Tokyo and then the World Triathlon Series crown before taking a big step up to his Ironman debut in Cozumel, which he won in an astonishing 7:21:11. He balanced short- and long-course racing in 2022, taking a pair of top-10 results at World Triathlon events while working toward wins at the Ironman and 70.3 world championships (both of which were in St. George, Utah) and a third-place result in Kona.

After stellar performances up in distance, he took a step back down and refocused his sights on the Olympics. His best post-Ironman result in his build to Paris came in a sprint race at the World Triathlon event in Montreal in 2023, where he finished fifth.

In 2024, his main goal was to defend his Olympic title, but he didn’t abandon his Ironman training. This proved to be too much for him, and he ended up finishing 12th in Paris, far off his goal of reaching the top of the podium. Just three weeks after his disappointing loss in Paris, he toed the line at Ironman Frankfurt, where he flew to a remarkable win in 7:27:21.

After these two races, he posted a video to talk about the results, stating that his training was “tilted a bit in the wrong direction,” focusing too much on Ironman results and not enough on short-course speed.

Looking to 2028

Roll asked Blummenfelt if he was going to L.A. in 2028, but the Norwegian refused to commit either way. “I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “But with that feeling coming off Paris and thinking that I’m not too old, but it was more mistakes done. And of course I want to showcase that it’s possible to come down again from Ironman distance.”

He continued, noting that he viewed his “Olympic-distance project” as “a failure.” Because of that, he said he would like to try again. “I do want to of course come back again to show that it is possible.”

Blummenfelt will be 34 in L.A., which adds another layer of difficulty to repeating as Olympic champion. However, he has shown that he is an incredible athlete with unmatched motivation, and while it will be a long and challenging road back to the Olympic podium, if anyone can do it, it is likely him.