On Athletes Derron, Blummenfelt and Geens claim half-distance Triathlon World Championship Medals in Nice
Swiss premium sportswear brand On is celebrating a dominant team performance at the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France, highlighted by silver medal performances from Kristian Blummenfelt and Julie Derron, along with a bronze medal from Jelle Geens. Solveig Løvseth, Gustav Iden and Paula Findlay, rounded out a fantastic team result by also claiming top ten positions.
“Seeing our athletes deliver such world-class performances in Nice is a truly special moment for everyone at On,” said Maria Ortega, Athlete Manager for Triathlon at On. “Nice is one of the most iconic and demanding venues in our sport, and seeing Kristian, Julie, Jelle, and the entire team execute such brilliant races is a fantastic achievement. We are immensely proud to celebrate these podiums and top finishes.”
Competing against an elite global field over the challenging 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike course through the Maritime Alps, and 21.1 km run, On athletes delivered exceptional results across both the men’s and women’s races along the iconic Promenade des Anglais, wearing the LS Cloudboom Strike 2 and the Cloudboom Strike 2.
In the women’s competition, Julie Derron (SUI) claimed the silver medal in 4:23:30. Solveig Løvseth (NOR) took fourth place with a time of 4:25:09, while Paula Findlay (CAN) finished ninth in 4:30:33.
“I’m very happy with my second place in Nice, it’s my best result at this type of race, so I’m very pleased”, Derron said after her performance. “In the run, I really went for it. I had a bit of a deficit to get on the podium, so I ran as fast as I could. I really had to fight for it but I never gave up and I am so pleased to come away with second place. It’s been a great season so far and to finish on the podium of a World Championship is very special.”
In the men’s race, Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) secured the silver medal with a total time of 03:51:09, closely followed by Jelle Geens (BEL), who earned bronze in 03:52:40. Gustav Iden (NOR) added to the On successes by finishing fourth in 03:53:16.
“Obviously, I got another World Championship podium but unfortunately no win today. The run is the thing I was happiest with. I was using the LS Cloudboom Strike 2 for the first time in a competition and it felt amazing and helped me set what is probably a 90-second PB for me on the half-marathon course. Coming 19 seconds short was of course bittersweet in the end but I will try my utmost to get another World Championship title again”, Blummenfelt said after his race.
Both silver medallists produced stellar run segments with Blummenfelt setting a new run course record time of 1:05:1, climbing from 16th after the bike to miss out on victory by just 19 seconds. Starting the half marathon in ninth place, Julie Derron also produced an extraordinary 1:13:04 run split to charge through the field, and smashed the run course record in Nice, just five seconds slower than Tamara Jewett’s record 1:12:59 at Oceanside in 2023.
The performance lays a crucial foundation as On athletes head into their final weeks of preparation ahead of the long-distance triathlon world championship in Kona, Hawaii, where Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden, Trevor Foley, Matt Hanson, Pierre Le Corre, Solveig Lovseth, Julie Derron, Chelsea Sodaro, Paula Findlay, Kat Matthews, and Fenella Langridge will be lining up on the start line.