October 10, 2010 – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Produced by David Corrigan & Karin Stanton

Mobile version of video

The sport of triathlon has two new world champions, and they are both from Australia.

On Saturday, it took Chris McCormack 8 hours, 10 minutes and 37 seconds to regain the title he held three years ago, after he won the Ford Ironman World Championship in 2007.

The 37 year old McCormack narrowly fended off a last minute push by Andreas Raelert to cross the finish line first. Raelert, a 36 year old German, ran neck in neck with McCormack down the stretch for what seemed like an eternity to all the amazed onlookers. Although McCormack seperated himself from Raelert by the final mile, the finish was the forth closest in Ironman history. The German clocked in at 8 hours 12 minutes and 17 seconds, less than two minutes behind.

The Ironman’s other Australian world champion, Mirinda Carfrae, earned her her first Ironman crown, conquering the women’s division in 8:58:36.

One of the biggest stories on race day broke even before the Ironman began. The dominant three time world champion Chrissie Wellington suddenly bowed out of the contest, blaming flu-like symptoms. Although Wellington had been so impressive over the course of her three-peat that many considered her 2010 victory a foregone conclusion, champion Carfrae would have given Wellington a run for her money, according to the numbers.

Carfrae turned in a rare women’s sub-nine hour performance. The 29 year old now has the fourth fastest time in the 32-year history of the event and she also broke her own run course record – set last year – with a 2 hour 53 minute 32 second marathon.

Carfrae pushed past first time Kona competitor Julie Dibens, a 35 year old from Great Britain who ulitmately finished third. It took Switzerland’s 32 year old Caroline Steffen 9 hours and 6 minutes to finish second.

Video courtesy Ironman and the Hawaii County Office of the Mayor were used in this video cast.

You can find more from Karin Stanton at hawaii247.com, including many stories on the Ironman race.

Ironman media release:

Chris McCormack and Mirinda Carfrae Victorious at 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship

It was an Australian sweep at today’s Ford Ironman World Championship when Chris “Macca” McCormack and Mirinda Carfrae claimed titles in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i. McCormack, who won the event in 2007, added a second World Championship title to his resume when he finished in 8:10:37. Carfrae secured her first-ever Ironman title when she crossed the line in 8:58:36, the fourth-fastest women’s time ever set in Kona.

McCormack excelled over an impressive men’s field including two-time defending champion, Craig Alexander (AUS), Chris Lieto (USA), Andreas Raelert (DEU), Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) and Raynard Tissink (ZAF). Andy Potts (USA) exited the water first, but Lieto, Andreas Bocherer (DEU) and Maik Twelsiek (DEU) pushed ahead early on the bike to build a gap on the men’s faster runners. McCormack took the lead 11-and-a-half miles into the run, and although Raelert caught up from miles 22 to 25, a last-minute surge awarded McCormack the win. Alexander posted the second-fastest run split of the day, but could not make up his deficit from the bike.

1. Chris McCormack, AUS, 8:10:37

2. Andreas Raelert, DEU, 8:12:17

3. Marino Vanhoenacker, BEL, 8:13:14

4. Craig Alexander, AUS, 8:16:53

5. Raynard Tissink, ZAF, 8:20:11

Last year’s runner-up, Carfrae dominated a women’s field that included Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Julie Dibens, Virginia Berasategui (ESP), Caroline Steffen (AUS) and Rachel Joyce (GBR). While Joyce was first out of the water, Dibens made her way to the front within the first 12 miles of the bike and maintained the lead throughout the 112-mile course. Carfrae was 11 minutes down when she entered T2, but ran her way to the lead by mile 16 and set a new run-course record of 2:53:32 in the process. Switzerland’s Karin Thuerig, the 49th woman out of the water, finished the bike in 4:48:22, breaking Paula Newby-Fraser’s 1993 record by eight seconds and finishing sixth overall.

1. Mirinda Carfrae, AUS, 8:58:36

2. Caroline Steffen, AUS, 9:06:00

3. Julie Dibens, GBR, 9:10:04

4. Virginia Berasategui, ESP, 9:16:47

5. Rachel Joyce, GBR, 9:18:48

Nearly 1,800 athletes representing more than 45 countries and almost all 50 states officially started the Ford Ironman World Championship, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Competitors ranged in age from 19 to 80 years old. The Emmy Award-winning Ford Ironman World Championship broadcast will air on NBC on Dec. 18, 2010, from 4 – 6 p.m. EST. Check local listings and ironman.com for details.

For complete race day coverage and results from the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship, visit www.ironman.com.

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