Hellriegel Is the Best at Ironman Triathlon

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — Germany’s Thomas Hellriegel won the Ironman Triathlon World Championship on Saturday, finishing the 140.6-mile test in 8 hours 33 minutes 2 seconds--the slowest winning time since 1987.

“I’m so happy. All I wanted was to to win this race. I’m so happy,” said Hellriegel, who took the lead 10 miles into the marathon run after fading to finish second the last two years.

Fellow German Jurgen Zack, who took the lead in the 35th mile of the 112-mile bicycle ride, was second in 8:39:17. Lothar Leder made it a German sweep of the top three positions, finishing in 8:40:29.

Heather Fuhr of Canada passed Wendy Ingraham of Walnut Creek, Calif., at the 15-mile mark of the 26.2-mile run and won the women’s title in 9:31:43. Fellow Canadian Lori Bowden was second in 9:41:42, and Fernanda Keller of Brazil was third in 9:50:02.

A total of 1,477 competitors began the race.