JON BREIVOLD PUNCHES HIS TICKET TO IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN KONA
Norway's Jon Sæverås Breivold is one of the strongest cyclists in triathlon, and at last year’s Men’s IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, he earned the 10th fastest bike split (4:39:51) and finished 20th overall. Not bad for a World Championship rookie! Still, he's always had his sights set on the World Championships in Kona, the island where the IRONMAN legend was born.
Breivold Finally Achieves His Kona Dream
Alas, despite three attempts last year, he failed to qualify for Kona. The cost of trips to Lanzarote, Austria, and Cozumel was a huge financial burden, and he told our team this past winter that he would likely have to give up his pro racing dreams — and his Kona dream — and return to the workforce full-time. Our team has always backed Breivold's ability to perform, and we renewed his contract with terms that allowed him to come back to racing as a pro.
His first shot at a Kona qualification this year came at IRONMAN Lanzarote a month ago. But getting a Kona slot is no easy feat, and the Lanzarote start list reflected it. Former IRONMAN World Champions Sam Laidlow and Patrick Lange were lined up to compete for those same Kona spots. Laidlow and Lange claimed those spots, leaving Breivold empty-handed.
IRONMAN Austria this past Saturday was his next shot, and maybe his last this year. Once again, the field was stacked, with 38 pro men chasing two Kona spots.
Typically one of the last swimmers out of the water, Breivold had one of his best swims ever, exiting the water in 24th place, less than seven minutes off the lead. He was in the game from the start. Once on his Studio NEXT V-PRi, he was in his element, and the hunt was on.
And he hunted, achieving a 4:08 bike split, the fastest of the day! He passed athlete after athlete through the Austrian Alps and entered the run in fourth place. With the third-fastest run of the day, he secured second place overall and nearly took the win! Most importantly, he finally nabbed that precious Kona slot. We're excited to see him realize his Kona dream this coming October!
Thus far, six pro Quintana Roo athletes have qualified for Kona. On the men’s side, Jon Breivold joins Matt Hanson, who qualified in New Zealand, and our four women, Grace Thek, Marta Sanchez, Jana Uderstadt, and Katrine Christensen, who all qualified early in the season. There are still a few races left for our remaining QR athletes, including Kristian Høgenhaug, to punch their tickets.
