Alistair Brownlee nails his Kona slot with the win at Ironman Kalmar

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee has had a tough season this year, getting sick just before the world championship in St. George, then having to pull out of the Sub7 Project due to a hip issue. Just as things were looking promising at the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) Canadian Open (after pulling clear on the bike with Sam Laidlow and starting the run in the lead) the Brit ran into stomach issues and would be forced to jog to the finish line well back.

Brownlee was able to turn things around a few weeks ago with a win at Ironman 70.3 Swansea, then came back today with a huge win at Ironman Kalmar, a men’s only pro race, to earn his spot for the Ironman World Championship in Kona in October.

Related: Alistair Brownlee added to stellar PTO Canadian Open field

Brownlee was second out of the water behind Scott Steenberg, but the pair had some company in the form of Tom Davis, with another two – Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) and Elliot Smales (GBR) within 16 seconds as the group headed to T2.

Out on the bike Jesper Svensson would eventually pull clear of Brownlee and Heemeryck, with the Swede hitting T2 just under a minute ahead. Brownlee would quickly run to the front (Svensson would eventually pull out), putting together a screaming fast 2:40:47 marathon to take the in in 7:38:48. Heemeryck would hang on for second and the other Kona slot, finishing in 7:46:39, while Germany’s Franz Loeschke would round out the podium in 7:49:18