Kristian Blummenfelt (Nor) And Kat Matthews (GBR) Earn Victories During Thrilling Day of Racing at The 2025 Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas North American Championship Triathlon

April 27, 2025

- Blummenfelt produces a blazing fast overall time of 7:24:20 to capture the victory in Texas - Matthews makes history with her third consecutive win in The Woodlands while also setting a new fastest time for a full-distance IRONMAN of 8:10:34 - Antonio Benito López (ESP) and Rudy Von Berg (USA) complete the male professional podium, while Taylor Knibb (USA) and Lisa Perterer (AUT) earn second and third places respectively in the female professional race - The fourth event in the 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series™, and the first full-distance IRONMAN triathlon in North America offered a $175,000 total pro prize purse

THE WOODLANDS, Texas /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The Woodlands, Texas and the Lone Star state once again provided a stunning backdrop for the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN^® Texas North American Championship, the fourth event in the 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series™. In the first full-distance 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series triathlon in North America, Norwegian powerhouse Kristian Blummenfelt stormed to victory in his debut appearance in The Woodlands in a time of 7:24:20. Additionally, history was made when British superstar Kat Matthews took the tape for the third consecutive year in Texas, this time completing the course in a staggering 8:10:34 and setting a new fastest time for a full-distance IRONMAN during a thrilling day of racing.

In the women’s field, it was three-time defending IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Taylor Knibb, competing in only her second full-distance IRONMAN following her fourth place 2023 IRONMAN World Championship performance, who would make waves early coming second out of the water seconds behind Rachel Zilinskas (USA) and quickly asserting her dominance on the bike course. All eyes were on Knibb’s biggest competition, 2024 IRONMAN Pro Series champion and two-time defending Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas champion, Kat Matthews. Matthews would exit the water five minutes behind Knibb, but was unable to chase down a relentless Knibb who had taken a pulsating lead over the field eventually completing the Zoot Bike Course in a new fastest time of 4:19:46.

While Knibb’s lead was healthy heading out of T2, the chase was on, and the two-time defending Champion Matthews was up to the task. Matthews caught Knibb as they neared the ninth mile of the marathon and soared to the finish. Matthews would break the tape in The Woodlands for the third straight year and set a new fastest time for a full-distance IRONMAN of 8:10:34, beating Laura Philipp’s time of 8:18:20 set at the 2022 IRONMAN Hamburg European Championship. Knibb would follow Matthews just under 10 minutes behind in a time of 8:20:15 to grab her first IRONMAN podium finish, while Austria’s Lisa Perterer would round out the podium in third finishing with an impressive 8:28:17.

“I’m really proud to pull together that (performance) against this field. Seriously, I’m really happy,” said Matthews on the finish line. “I wasn’t feeling great to be honest. I thought, just ease into it, but the speed came quite easily, and the time just hemorrhaged. I feel lucky to sort of claw back time really quickly and stay positive for most of it. I really feel like the depth of the women’s field is growing and grown and the competition level of the these (IRONMAN) Pro Series races really brings everyone together.”

Top Five Female Professional Results

In the men’s race, the Texas sized intensity was clear straight off the cannon’s fire as multiple course times fell over the course of the day of racing. The men’s race kicked off with a furious swim, with 25 men all exiting the water within a minute of each other, USA’s Ben Kanute sharing time at the front with Andrea Salvisberg (SUI), Thomas Gordon (USA) and others. Onto the bike, the likes of Australian Nick Thompson, Sweden’s Robert Kallin, and Denmark’s Kristian Høgenhaug all took their turn at the front of the all-out bike pursuit. However, it would be Australian cycling juggernaut Cameron Wurf who would work his way to the front and enter T2 first with the fastest IRONMAN bike split in history, setting a new course best bike time of 3:53:32. The eventual men’s podium stayed in touch throughout the bike, in a strong second chase group behind Wurf.

Wurf led out of T2, with Thompson, 10 seconds behind, however, it was the Norwegian Olympic Champion who would quickly put down the hammer and start to distance himself from the field. The battle for the podium spots quickly simmered down to Benito López and the chasing Rudy Von Berg, each taking second and third respectively, while Blummenfelt would cruise to victory and set a new course best time of 7:24:20.

“It felt super good, especially the first 25K, the last 7-8K it started getting really tough. I was feeling stable even with the heat. I was pleased with I was able to get through how I felt at the end of the bike, because I started cramping in the quads,” said Blummenfelt following his victory on Waterway Ave. “If you look away from the puncture in Oceanside, I felt my shape was ok, but just a bummer to not take away the points. To be able to take 5,000 points today, I think that is more crucial because you can always do another (IRONMAN) 70.3, but to back it up with another IRONMAN is more challenging. I super happy with today’s win.”

Top Five Male Professional Results

The 2025 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship Texas, triathlon saw nearly 90 professional athletes toe the start line as well as approximately 2,500 age group athletes. The event offered a professional prize purse of $175,000 USD and five qualifying slots for each gender to the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon in Nice, France (men’s race) and Kona, Hawai`i (women’s race), and also has an IRONMAN North American Championship title on the line.

News and Notes

• Kat Matthews (GBR) wins her third straight Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas title, this time completing the course in a staggering 8:10:34 and setting a new fastest time for a full-distance IRONMAN.
• In his debut performance in Texas, Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) was the fastest runner of the day, clocking a blazing fast run time of 2:34:03
• Kat Matthew’s (GBR) would finish the day with the fastest run split in the women’s field and finish the marathon course in 2:49:19
• Both Cameron Wurf (AUS) and Taylor Knibb (USA) set new course best bike times, finishing the ZOOT Bike Course in a time of 3:53:32 and 4:19:46 respectively.
• Switzerland’s Andrew Salvisberg led the pack of men out of the water setting the fastest swim time of the day with a time of a 48:26, while American Rachel Zilinskas was the fastest female out of the water with a time of 50:35.
• Chloe Lane (AUS) 10th place finish moves her three spots up into first overall in the IRONMAN Pro Series Standings, while Kat Matthews (GBR) enters third place and Tamara Jewett (CAN) moves into moves into fourth following her sixth place finish in Texas and first full-distance IRONMAN finish.
• Rudy Von Berg (USA) moves into first overall in the IRONMAN Pro Series following his third-place finish in Texas, while Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) moves into second and Leon Chevalier (FRA) ninth place finish moves him 19 spots up to fourth.

Full results for the 2025 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North American Championship can be found at www.ironman.com/im-texas-results. For additional event information, please visit www.ironman.com/im-texas.

IRONMAN Pro Series Standings    

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based triathlon race series with professional triathletes being able to earn points at 18 select races in 17 locations globally. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series ushers in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters™ with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. For any athlete, only their top five event results count towards their overall Pro Series points and standing, of which a maximum of three IRONMAN results can be counted. How it works can be found here.

Blummenfelt and Matthews walked away with the maximum IRONMAN Pro Series points available for an IRONMAN of 5000 points. This weekend’s results mean both athletes take an early lead in the overall IRONMAN Pro Series standings. Athletes finishing behind the race winner saw their points diminish with every second that ticked off behind the race winner.

Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Standings – Top Five Male (After Four Events)

Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Standings – Top Five Female (After Four Events)     

Full IRONMAN Pro Series standings can be found at proseries.ironman.com.

Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Event Prize Money

In addition to the IRONMAN Pro Series’ $1.7M year-end bonus prize pool, there is an event pro prize purse payout of $2,450,000, distributed across IRONMAN Pro Series events. With the first three IRONMAN Pro Series races complete, a total of $450,000 has been earned by professional athletes so far – leaving $2,000,000 to be claimed at the remaining events.

Top Five Male Prize Money Earned (After Four Events)

Top Five Female Prize Money Earned (After Four Events)

Full IRONMAN Pro Series standings can be found at proseries.ironman.com.

Next Events Coming Up

With the fourth race now complete, the IRONMAN Pro Series will make its way to Italy for the first stop in Europe with IRONMAN 70.3 Venice-Jesolo triathlon on Sunday May 4, 2025

Replay coverage of racing at the 2025 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship Texas is available to international audiences via proseries.ironman.com or IRONMAN’s YouTube Page, and on Outside+ for those watching from the United States and Canada.

For more information on the IRONMAN Pro Series, visit proseries.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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About IRONMAN Pro Series

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based world series that showcases and rewards top professional triathletes as they vie for points and event prize money, on their way to claiming the title of IRONMAN Pro Series champion and a lion’s share of the lucrative $1.7 million USD year-end bonus prize pool.  Along the way, athletes will battle for the prize money offered at each individual IRONMAN Pro Series triathlon, equating to over $2.5 million USD, as well as coveted world championship qualifying slots. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series ushers in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters – every second behind the race winner equates to a point earned or lost. Incorporating iconic distances, challenging courses, and stunning destinations, every IRONMAN Pro Series race will be broadcast live and free to a global audience. In 2025, the IRONMAN Pro Series will be contested over 18 events and 17 race locations around the globe, including a combination of six IRONMAN^® and eight IRONMAN^® 70.3^® triathlons, as well as the IRONMAN World Championship^® women’s and men’s races and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon. An additional 40 events outside of the 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series will also offer IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 professional racing fields with world championship qualifying opportunities, and over $1.8 million USD in prize money. This creates a total professional prize purse of over $6 million USD in 2025. For more information, visit proseries.ironman.com.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group is the world’s largest operator of participation sports with a portfolio of brands, events, media, partners, merchandise, and digital platforms operating in over 50 countries worldwide. A global portfolio consisting of hundreds of events includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, 5150^® Triathlon Series, IRONKIDS^®, premier running events including the Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Running Series, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf^®, the UTMB^® World Series of trail running, the Epic Series™ of mountain biking including the Absa Cape Epic^®, and a collection of road cycling and other multisport races. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, millions of athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. From its beginnings as a single race among friends in Hawai’i, The IRONMAN Group has become a global sensation and collection of high-growth lifestyle brands that inspire people to unlock their potential in life. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.