Triathlon News & Notes: New Blummenfelt Documentary, Colleen Quigley to Tri, Paratriathlete Medals, and More

This article originally appeared on Triathlete

New doc showcases Blummenfelt's Journey to a Sub 7-Hour Ironman

A documentary showcasing the "human side" of Kristian Blummenfelt during his journey to a sub-7-hour Ironman is now live: “Impossibly Fast: Kristian Blummenfelt’s Pursuit of Sub7," a 24-minute film following the Norwegian’s journey to becoming the first athlete to complete the full Ironman distance in less than 7 hours during the Phoenix Sub7/Sub8 Project, was released this week by Blummenfelt's bike sponsor, Cadex. The film follows Blummenfelt's preparation for the milestone event, which involved high-altitude training camps in Spain, wind-tunnel analysis in the Netherlands, team prep in France, and the Sub-7 race day in Germany.

Related: The Inside Details On Blummenfelt's Sub7 CADEX Prototype Bike

U.S. paratriathletes podium in Portugal

Four U.S. elite paratriathletes landed on the podium at the World Triathlon Para Cup in Alhandra, Portugal on Saturday. Zachary Stinson, Mark Barr, Kelly Worrell, and Deborah Chucoski all claimed top-three spots in their respective sport classifications in the sprint-distance course (780-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run) in Portugal. Leading the way were Chucoski (PTVI) and Worrell (PTS4), who each earned silver medals; Stinson (WTWC) and Barr (PTS2) both took bronze.

Positive steps for triathletes injured in separate accidents last year

A pairing of good news to report for two top age-group triathletes who were involved in separate, but equally devastating bike crashes last year: In The U.K., Nathan Ford, 38, who had life-threatening spinal and brain injuries after a high-speed accident during the British Triathlon Championships one year ago, is now taking steps on his own, despite being told he'd may never walk again. And in Australia, Alexa Leary, 19, who nearly died after a crash during a training ride last July, earned three gold medals in the para division at the Australia Sprint Swim Trials, and has her sights set on competing at the Paralympics in 2024. "It's quite amazing...one year ago yesterday I was learning to walk and talk again," she posted. "Once you choose hope, anything is possible."

Olympian steeplechase star Colleen Quigley may dabble in triathlon

Colleen Quigley, a 2016 Olympian in the 3000-meter steeplechase shared with her 239,000 Instagram followers that she is considering stepping into the triathlon arena. "I'm not quite done with my goals on the track, but I'm having so much fun with swimming and biking and can definitely see myself switching over some day," she said. Quigley, who has a track 5K PR of 15:10 and a road mile PR of 4:19, also revealed that she has a triathlon coach and recently attended a USA Triathlon camp for runners looking to get into the sport.

Vietnamese ultra-runner wins Swiss Ultra Deca World Champs

After 328 hours, 27 minutes, and 55 seconds of swimming, biking, and running, Vu Phuong Thanh became the first Vietnamese woman in history to win the Swiss Ultra Deca Continuous Triathlon World Champs. The extreme race, which requires competitors to complete over 23 miles of swimming, almost 1120 miles of cycling, and 262 miles of running in 14 days, took place from August 14 to 29. (Belgium's Richard Jung won the men's race, finishing in 187 hours, 49 minutes, and 24 seconds.) Thanh, 32, is known as “the girl who runs around the world” and in 2016 became the first person to run across the Namib, Gobi, Atacama, and Antarctic deserts. She has also completed ultra-runs in Australia and in the North Pole.

Podcast Notes

• Greg Bennett brings on top strength and conditioning coach Matt Pendola, who works with elite triathletes, to talk about the importance of strength-building for endurance athletes.

• That Triathlon Life covers 100-mile ultra races, bike gear, and answers listener questions about carbon wheels, racing at altitude, and how to put on a wet wetsuit, among other topics.

• IronWomen features Amy VanTassel--a professional long-course athlete who’s won Ultraman Israel--to talk about training for varying distances and styles of races.

• ProTriNews rehashes last weekend's World Triathlon Cup race in Bergen.

• The MXEndurance Podcast tries to decipher the Professional Triathletes Organization's points system-- and why the dominant Daniela Ryf is ranked #2 in the world.

• TriDot chats with Dr. Krista Austin and Advanced Sports Dietician Taryn Richardson to discuss the triathlete’s relationship with their body weight, and whether there is a magic number or formula when it comes to maximizing performance.

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