Kristian Blummenfelt – Photo Credit: Flickr

Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt won the men’s triathlon Olympic title on Monday in a race that was disrupted at the beginning by a boat blocking some marred by a bizarre false start.

The 27-year-old Blummenfelt crossed the finishing line in a time of 1 hour 45minutes 4 seconds before raising the winning line tape above his head and then throwing himself to the ground in celebration still wrapped in the tape.

Jack Yee of Britain took silver 11 seconds behind the winner whilst Hayden Wilde of New Zealand took bronze.

But the main talking point after the race was the chaotic start to the event, which saw around two thirds of the 56 competitors dive into the water and set off on the swimming leg only to be hauled back.

The confusion was caused by a boat that prevented other competitors from entering the water. 

Through the Brownlee brothers, Britain had dominated this event in the past two editions. 

However, two-time champion Alistair Brownlee was not selected while his brother Jonathan, who has previously taken silver and bronze finished fifth, 49 seconds off the champion in a race held in trying conditions.