KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii – Australia’s Craig Alexander won the Ironman World Championship on Saturday, making a late surge in the stifling heat to win for the second straight year.
The 36-year-old Alexander completed the 140.6-mile (226-kilometer) endurance test in 8 hours, 20 minutes and 21 seconds, beating California’s Chris Lieto by more than 2 minutes.
Britain’s Chrissie Wellington earned her third straight women’s title, finishing in a course record 8:54:02 – nearly 20 minutes ahead of Australia’s Mirinda Carfrae. Wellington broke Paula Newby-Fraser’s mark of 8:55:28 set in 1992 and finished 23rd overall.
Alexander and Wellington each won $110,000.
The triathletes had virtually windless conditions much of the day. They battled the unforgiving heat that radiated off the pavement and the ink-black, sun-baked lava fields. (AP)