Norwegian athlete Kristian Grue successfully defended his Norseman title at the 2026 edition of the race yesterday, but on his debut Olympian Alistair Brownlee certainly made him work for it.

What happened in the men’s race

The morning began with calm waters in Eidfjord, but swim times suggested athletes were facing a current beneath the surface. Grue set the pace from the start, emerging first from the 3.8 km swim, while Alistair Brownlee exited the water in sixth place, one and a half minutes behind.

Brownlee quickly erased the deficit on the bike and caught Grue before Dyranut. The two athletes rode much of the course across Hardangervidda in close company, establishing themselves as the clear favourites for victory.

After hours of close racing, Grue managed to open a gap to Brownlee which he gradually extended, finishing on Mount Gaustatoppen in 09:53:46, with Brownlee taking second in 10:18:19. Third place was secured by Hans Christian Tungesvik, hot on Brownlee’s heels in 10:18:55.

What happened in the women’s race

In the women’s race, Dutch athlete Ilona Eversdijk was first out of the water, followed by Maisa Tuliniemi of Finland and Estée Chiara Larivière.

As the race progressed, the competition remained exceptionally close. At one stage, as many as eight women were separated by less than eight minutes, and Norwegian athlete Tonja Lunde Johansen from Sandnes later moved into the overall lead.

When the athletes started the run, Maisa Tuliniemi led the race, with Nikola Čorbová in second and Kaja Bergwitz-Larsen in third. But with several strong runners close behind, the race was far from settled.

Among those chasing was Helene Melson Tungesvik, who produced one of the strongest runs of the day. Starting the run more than 12.5 minutes behind Čorbová, she steadily reduced the gap and moved into podium contention.

Despite the pressure from behind, Čorbová claimed the victory after a consistently strong performance across all three disciplines finishing the course in 12:04:56. Behind her was Tungesvik in 12:09:24 with Sonia Tomegros Regelado third in 12:13:59.

At the time of publishing we are waiting for photos of the women’s race winner.

Lead image: Kristian Grue of Norway finishes 1st place at the Norseman Extreme Triathlon on August 01, 2026, in Eidfjord, Norway.
Photo: Alexander Koerner for Norseman Extreme Triathlon