Alexander and Wellington Win Ironman Hawaii World Championship

It was a remarkable day of racing at the 2008 Ironman World Championships held in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island in Hawaii. On both the men's and women's side of the race, there was drama and intrigue, wrapping up in a day of great triathlon and two deserved winners.

Perhaps the story of the day would be Chrissie Wellington, heavily favored to win the race as many top contenders - including Michellie Jones and Samantha McGlone - were unable to compete. Wellington had some tire issues - imagine 2 flat tires on one ride! She used all her quick-fix flat supplies and was left stranded on the side of the road, still clinging to a 10 minute lead nearly halfway through the bike. A spoke apparently popped through her inner tube 2 times in a row. An age group rider finally pulled over and gave Wellington the tire repair items she needed, and with a "thank you!" the Brit was on her way. However, she lost about 20 minutes over the 2 flat ordeal!

Yet, almost miraculously, she closed back to the 3 women leaders within 30 miles, making up an 6 minute gap, and then finished the bike portion of the race with a 8 minute lead! Story enough? Read on then!

Wellington promptly knocked out a 2:57 marathon, eclipsing Lori Bowden's previous record 2:59 marathon time. And so, Wellington went on to win her second consecutive Ironman World Championship, overcoming a 2 flat bike leg.

On the men's side, if you followed the live commentary on the official Ironman web site, all the talk was of bike leaders Torbjorn Sindballe, Chris Lieto, Andy Potts, Faris Al Sultan, Eneko Llanos, and Chris McCormack, among others. But as with classic Hawaii Ironman duels of past years, today's race would come down to run speed and power - and that's when Craig Alexander emerged on the running commentary as a runner making up ground fast.

Alexander's swift 2:45 marathon catapulted him into the race lead just after the Natural Energy Lab. Suddenly, all those hours seeing the bike leaders names meant nothing - biking steadily and about 8-10 minutes back all day, Alexander unleashed his main weapon, the run, right out of T2. And so Alexander claimed his first Ironman World Championship, while Eneko Llanos made a name for himself finishing in second place.

Other news: McCormack was the defending champion but had to drop out of the race after the halfway point on the bike due to a mechanical failure, a shifter or cable. Yvonne Van Vlerken captured second in the women's race - she was mentioned lots pre-race as a big threat with her strong running skills. Read Wellington's description of her flat tire on the Triathlete Mag web site.

Professional Men
1. Craig Alexander 8:17:45
2. Eneko Llanos Burguera 8:20:50
3. Rutger Beke 8:21:23
4. Ronnie Schildknecht 8:24:46
5. Cameron Brown 8:26:17
6. Patrick Vernay 8:30:23
7. Andy Potts 8:33:50
8. Mathias Hecht 8:34:02
9. Michael Lovato 8:34:47
10. Eduardo Sturla 8:36:53
Professional Women
1. Chrissie Wellington 9:06:23
2. Yvonne Van Vlerken 9:21:20
3. Sandra Wallenhorst 9:22:52
4. Erika Csomor 9:24:49
5. Linsey Corbin 9:28:51
6. Virginia Berasategui 9:29:15
7. Bella Comerford 9:34:08
8. Gina Ferguson 9:36:53
9. Gina Kehr 9:37:06
10. Dede Griesbauer 9:39:53