Macca Regains Crown, Carfrae Breaks Nine Hours
ColoradoTriathlete.com
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October 9, 2010 (Kailua-Kona, HI) – In an exciting finish, Chris McCormack and Andreas Raelert ran side by side in the final miles along the Queen K. It was McCormack, however, the 2007 Ironman World Champion, who finally surged away to enter Alii Drive alone for the win in 8 hours 10 minutes 37 seconds.
Raelert, who finished third in the race last year, moved into the runner-up spot this year with his time of 8:12:17. Marino Vanhoenacker took third in 8:13:14, while two-time Ironman world champion Craig Alexander finished fourth in 8:16:53.
In the women’s race, Mirinda Carfrae matched the feat of her fellow Australian, McCormack, to be crowned Ironman world champion with her sub-nine hour performance (8:58:36).
Caroline Steffen placed second in 9:06:00, and Julie Dibens took third in 9:10:04.
Carfrae became only the third women in the history of the event to break nine hours in Kona. Paula Newby-Fraser did so twice during her reign as the “Queen of Kona,” posting a time of 8:55:28 in 1992 and 8:58:23 in 1993. Chrissie Wellington broke Newby-Fraser’s course record last year with her 8:54:02 performance.
Carfrae ran an impressive 2:53:32 to marathon en route to her winning sub-nine hour finish, a run split bettered by only a handful of men and a time that will significantly raise the bar for future competitors.
