What the what!? Kristian Blummenfelt and Kat Matthews become first triathletes to finish an Iron-distance triathlon in under 7 hours and 8 hours, respectively

Remember when Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run sub-two for the marathon? Well, in a project similar to the whole Breaking2 attempt, Norway’s reigning Ironman and Olympic champion Kristian Blummenfelt became the first man to break seven hours for an Iron-distance triathlon, while Britain’s Kat Matthews became the first woman to break eight hours for the distance.

The Sub7 and Sub8 projects, sponsored by the Pho3nix Foundation and powered by Zwift, also saw London 2012 gold medallist Nicola Spirig breaking the sub-eight barrier and Joe Skipper – a multiple Ironman champion ­– going sub-seven, with both just a few minutes behind their competitors.

The attempt, which took part in Brandenburg, Germany yesterday (5 June), aimed to test the peak of human capability for the gruelling Iron-distance triathlon, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run.

The four athletes completed the standard Iron-distance but under different rules and conditions than in traditional triathlon races. Firstly, drafting was permitted – which is where a cyclist moves into an area of low pressure behind another cyclist to reduce wind resistance and therefore the amount of pedalling required to move forwards. Each athlete was also allowed to utilise a team of pacers and use custom-made equipment.

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Regardless of these rule changes, the times recorded were truly mind-blowing. Blummenfelt crossed the line in 6 hours 44 minutes and 25 seconds, breaking his own official record of 7 hours 21 minutes 12 seconds, which he recorded last year at Ironman Cozumel.

Skipper – who had stepped in at the last minute to replace Alistair Brownlee ­­­­– finished