The Norseman Xtreme Triathlon is a triathlon competition in Norway . The competition has been held annually since 2003 (in the first year with only 21 athletes) and is considered one of the toughest triathlon competitions (over the Ironman distance) in the world.
This race, together with the Swissman (in Switzerland) and Celtman (in Scotland), forms the series of Xtreme triathlons.
The race starts from a ferry with a 3.8 km swim through the Hardangerfjord to Eidfjord , followed by 180 km cycling from Eidfjord via Hardangervidda , Geilo to Austbygde on Lake Tinnsjå . Finally the marathon run over the length of 42.2 km to the summit of the mountain Gaustatoppen with a height of 1883 moh. Particular challenges are swimming in the Hardangerfjord, which is rarely more than 15 ° C, and the final ascent over scree up to Gaustatoppen.
At the Norseman it is mandatory to register with a “support team” because there are no refreshment stations from the organizer on the bike course and at the beginning of the marathon course. The athletes have to organize that themselves.
The number of participants is limited to 250. Since 2010, the starting places are no longer allocated according to the registration speed, but the organizer allocates contingents. To mark its tenth anniversary, two triathlons were held in 2012: 250 participants started on August 4th and the elite started on the following day, also in a field of 250 participants.
In 2016, the women's winner, Kari Flottorp Lingsom, was subsequently given a time penalty in September and thus Kirstin Lie, who has so far been second, achieved her second victory in a row. In 2020 the race planned for August 1st had to be canceled.
Results
The course record is 9:52:10 h in 2017 by the Norwegian Lars Christian Vold for the men and for the women the record since 2018 is 11:16:10 h by the Norwegian Mette Pettersen Moe.
