Gustav Iden

Gustav Iden has proven himself to be one of the most adaptable triathletes in the world. The Norwegian has secured impressive results and big victories over a variety of distances and has a myriad of career options still in front of him. Gustav grew up dreaming of being a professional cyclist, influenced by his father who was the head coach of a local youth cycling team that also included his brother and sister in his hometown of Bergen.

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However, he also loved to run, and it looked as though his competitive future might lay after he won a cross country gold representing Norway’s junior national team. However, it wasn’t until Gustav had been spotted and recruited onto Norway’s triathlon programme that he really started to develop his swimming and move towards becoming one of the most versatile athletes of recent years.

The talent spotters in Norway picked a gem in Gustav. He repaid their faith very quickly, picking up a national title in 2014 in both triathlon and duathlon along with a top 10 finish in the Junior World Championships in 2015. It was the spur that Gustav needed to step into the elite ranks, but it took until 2017 for him to really explode onto the scene, and success has been a constant companion ever since. That breakthrough race came in the World Cup event in Karlovy Vary, where he took gold. Then, in 2018 he took bronze at WTS Bermuda as part of a memorable Norwegian 1-2-3 along with teammates and training partners Casper Stornes and Kristian Blummenfelt.

By 2019 he was not only collecting World Cup wins but also stepping into middle distance racing. He announced himself on that scene with second place at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain and then an incredible victory in Nice to be crowned the youngest ever winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.

In 2020 Gustav took the honours, and the $100,000 winner’s cheque, at the PTO Championships in Daytona against a stacked field. He continues to juggle his short course career, Olympic aspirations and middle and long-distance disciplines.

In 2021 Gustav collected another 70.3 World Championship in St George, and in 2022 he became IRONMAN World Champion, on the celebrated course at Kailua-Kona.

Gustav joined Super League Triathlon in 2019 and collected a fifth placed finish in Malta to underscore his incredible versatility. He returned to SLT earlier this year, to race the grand finale of Arena Games Triathlon Powered by Zwift in London. A dramatic event for Iden, he was issued a time penalty for arriving late to registration before the racing even began. He fought his way back into the final, via the repechage round and finished the event in 5th position.