Sunday, October 14, 2007

Macca Conquers Kona, newcomer Wellington wins the women's race


On a day full of surprises starting early in the morning with Faris Al-Sultan dropping out before the swim start to stomach problems and Normann Stadler following suit at the bike turnaround in Hawi, Chris McCormack finally got the win he has wanted. Fighting against early leader Chris Lieto Macca overcame a sizeable deficit throughout the bike before capturing the lead heading into the Energy Lab. Once that lead was his Macca would never look back. His lead continued to build eventually finishing three minutes and 30 seconds ahead of second place finisher Craig Alexander. After entering T2 with the lead Torbjorn Sindballe held off a fast-closing Tim Deboom for third place.

In the women's race, Chrissie Wellington, an unknown at the Ironman World Championships, ran a superb race to defeat another Ironman newcomer Samantha McGlone. While Natascha Badmann had an unfortunate bike accident and defending champion Michellie Jones pulled out with an ear infection, the race was open for the women left in the field and Wellington capitalized on the opportunity.

Top 5 Men:
1. Chris McCormack - 8:15:34
2. Craig Alexander - 3:30
3. Torbjorn Sindballe - 5:56
4. Tim Deboom - 6:59
5. Marino Vanhoenacker - 7:58

Top 5 Women:
1. Chrissie Wellington - 9:08:45
2. Samantha McGlone - 5:20
3. Kate Major - 10:28
4. Joanna Lawn - 18:02
5. Rebecca Preston - 18:10

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