London: History was made in the Pho3nix Sub7 Sub8 Challenge yesterday (Sunday 5 June) when Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt became the first male to go under 7 hours and Britain’s Kat Matthews became the first female to go under 8 hours in a full iron distance triathlon.

With the event encompassing a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run consecutively, the PTO World #1, Blummenfelt finished in a remarkable time of 06:44:25 ahead of Britain’s Joe Skipper (6:47:36), with PTO World #3 Matthews finishing in front of Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig (7:34:19) in a staggering 07:31:54. In doing so, Kristian and Kat write their names in the history books.

Meanwhile, at IRONMAN® Hamburg, Germany’s Laura Philipp produced an incredible performance to win the event in 8:18:20, only missing out on Chrissie Wellington’s long-standing mark of 8:18:13 by seven seconds.

Reflecting on the weekend’s achievements, Sam Renouf, CEO of the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), a new body co-owned by the athletes and seeking to grow the sport around the world, said:

“Our huge congratulations go to all four PTO athletes competing at the Pho3nix Sub7 Sub8 challenge yesterday for their superhuman performances. Whilst the plaudits will rightly go to Kristian and Kat for winning their respective races, all four have shone an unmissable spotlight on what incredible athletes we have in the sport.”

“In 1977, John and Judy Collins sought to answer the question of who the greatest endurance athlete was – a swimmer, cyclist or runner. This weekend’s racing has reinforced the answer that triathletes are the greatest endurance athletes in the world – period.”

“Put that together with Laura Philipp’s astonishing time in Hamburg and it’s been a stellar weekend of action.”

Speaking on his incredible accomplishment, hosted at Germany’s Dekra Lausitzring, with the swim taking place in the nearby Lake Seftenberg, Kristian Blummenfelt said:

“Today was about making history but also about proving that all goals – big and small – are worth chasing. This has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my incredible team – thank you.”

Kat Matthews said after her outstanding achievement:

“The journey to get to this challenge has been tough and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the amazing team I’m surrounded by. But today was about much more than going Sub8. It was about showing the world that there’s no such thing as ‘impossible’.”

The new PTO Tour is a series of high profile, high prize fund, global events featuring the world’s best triathletes. The PTO Tour race schedule for 2022 includes: the first ever PTO Canadian Open (July 23-24); the second edition of the Collins Cup (August 20-21) – who’s name was inspired by John and Judy Collins – and the first PTO US Open in Dallas, Texas(September 17-18). Each Open carrying a minimum prize money fund of $1M and being raced over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run).

In 2023 and 2024, the PTO Tour plans to expand with the PTO European Open and the PTO Asian Open, alongside their US and Canadian equivalents and the Collins Cup.

For more information contact:

Professional Triathletes Organisation

Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]

About Sub7/8

Assets for the race can be found here with full race VNR here and photos here and here: Source: Mana Sports and Entertainment Group

For more information about the Pho3nix Foundation visit www.pho3nixfoundation.com.

Contact: [email protected]