They’ll line the shores of Lake Taupō to catch a glimpse of Kristian Blummenfelt, and they’ll roar on Mike Phillips if there is even a hint that the Cantabrian is in the running for a fourth title. But no athlete on Saturday’s start list at Anzco Foods Ironman New Zealand can call on the home crowd quite like Kyle Smith.
The 28-year-old is on the comeback trail after year derailed by illness and injury. After learning to race on these roads and launching a global career here, he couldn’t have picked a better place for that.
Smith finished 2024 as one of the sport’s most exciting talents, placing second in the T100 Triathlon World Tour standings and delivering a fine 4th at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship on his own patch.
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The world felt like it was opening up. Then 2025 happened. Illness slowed his early season, and just when momentum was rebuilding, a low-speed bike crash in November snapped his collarbone and ended his year entirely — his last race a DNF at T100 Spain in mid-September. A current PTO world ranking of 102 tells the story of a year he’d rather forget.
But the collarbone has healed, the engine is firing again, and Smith has chosen the biggest possible stage for his return to full distance… his first full Ironman start since October 2022.
“Training is going really well since my shoulder break, and I feel like I’m in good shape. So I’m excited to see how it goes,” Smith said.
The motivation is clear. October’s 140.6 Worlds in Kona.
“I’m coming back to Ironman because I feel like Kona is the big goal this season and I am really excited by the distance and I’m on a journey of discovery with my return to Ironman, especially kicking it off here in Taupō.
“It’s a place that is super special to me and it’s such an honour to race at home and bring some amazing athletes here to Taupō to race.”
Those amazing athletes include Blummenfelt and Phillips, the two men the rest of the field will likely spend most of Saturday chasing.
With his bike power renowned and roads he knows intimately, Smith is more than capable of inserting himself into the conversation, even in a field headlined by a world champion and a defending course record holder.
“A successful day for me this weekend would be a podium and a Kona slot in hand,” Smith said.
“I’m keen to build throughout this year, start here and build towards the Ironman 70.3 World Championship [in Nice, France] and Ironman World Championship in Kona with one eye looking at the Pro Series.”
Beyond Blummenfelt, Phillips, and Smith, quality in the men’s field runs deep. Swedish powerhouse Rasmus Svenningsson brings bike power and enters already qualified forKona, while American Trevor Foley, after an inconsistent 2025, is chasing a return to his 2024 breakthrough form.
France’s Pierre Le Corre, a two-time Olympian, is the wildcard – an Ironman debutant with blistering run speed that could rewrite the marathon narrative, and German Fred Funk has the capability to pull off something special.
Kiwi duo Ben Hamilton and Jack Moody return with proven Taupō podium pedigree, while consistent IM Pro Series performers Henrik Goesch and Matt Hanson round out a field with genuine top five potential deep into the start list.
You can follow the Pro women’s and men’s races live from 7:15am Saturday via the Ironman Pro Series website and/or Ironman YouTube channel.
2026 ANZCO Foods Ironman New Zealand
Men’s Professional Field
M1 – Mike Phillips (NZL)
M2 – Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR)
M3 – Rasmus Svenningsson (SWE)
M4 – Trevor Foley (USA)
M5 – Henrik Goesch (FIN)
M6 – Matt Hanson (USA)
M7 – Jack Moody (NZL)
M8 – Ben Hamilton (NZL)
M9 – Kyle Smith (NZL)
M10 – Pierre Le Corre (FRA)
M11 – Frederic Funk (DEU)
M12 – Mitchell Kibby (AUS)
M14 – Sam Osborne (NZL)
M15 – Jack Sosinski (AUS)
M16 – Yvan Jarrige (FRA)
M17 – Andy Krueger (USA)
M18 – Nathan Dortmann (AUS)
M19 – Tom Somerville (NZL)
M20 – Matt Kerr (NZL)
M21 – Calvin Amos (AUS)
M22 – Jamie Hayes (USA)
M24 – Robert Huisman (NZL)
M25 – David Martin (CZE)
