Sam Long’s last-minute attempt to secure a spot at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona was unsuccessful, with him finishing 22nd at the IRONMAN Frankfurt event. Despite only receiving a rolled-down spot on the start line, he decided to compete while based in Trieste, Italy for a training block in the hope of claiming one of the six spots available.
Long fell behind early in the race, with a deficit of over seven minutes after the swim, which increased to more than 17 minutes during the bike leg. Despite making up some time during the run with a 2:44 marathon, it wasn’t enough, and he ultimately finished 24 minutes behind the winner, Kristian Blummenfelt.
Blummenfelt, a former IRONMAN World Champ, had also faced challenges leading up to the race, having participated in the Olympics at Paris 2024 less than two weeks prior. Long missed out on the six Kona spots available, as only ‘Big Blu,’ Kacper Stepniak, and Patrick Lange had already secured their places among the top nine finishers in the race.
The six athletes who earned the coveted Kona berths in the final qualifying race of 2024 for men were Kieran Lindars, Gregory Barnaby, Kristian Hogenhaug, Menno Koolhaas, Jonas Hoffmann, and Finn Große-Freese. Long, who is currently ranked number three in the T100 standings, still has a promising season ahead despite not qualifying for Kona this time.
