KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii – Alexandre Ribeiro of Brazil won his third Ultraman title and Shanna Armstrong of Texas won a record fifth Ultraman women's crown with fast runs to consolidate leads they established on the first two days of competition in the 24th edition of the 320-mile, three-day triathlon stage race held on the Big island of Hawaii.
Ribeiro and third place overall Miro Kregar of Slovenia broke free from the specter of 1997 Ultraman champion Peter Kotland and his record 5:33:57 double marathon, set 11 years ago, at the half-marathon mark. The duo finished the first marathon in 2:57, establishing a 3-minute lead on a struggling Kotland. Kregar then went on to record the 5th fastest run in Ultraman history, 6:14:16, with Ribeiro following with the 6th fastest Ultraman double marathon in 6:15:32.
Kotland blew sky-high at Mile 32, gutting out a painful but honorable 7:33:20 run to take fourth place overall, just three minutes behind Kregar.
Ribeiro, following Ultraman wins in 2003 and 2005, finished in a PR of 21:49:38, the third fastest in Ultraman's 24-event history, 8 minutes 16 seconds behind Holger Spiegel's 1998 event record. Tony O'Keefe, the race leader after Day 1, and second place after Day 2, closed with a fourth-best 6:46:58 marathon to finish in 22:31:54 and take his fourth Ultraman runner-up result.
Armstrong, who scored the second fastest Day 2 bike split Saturday, ran a PR 8:17:13 double marathon, the 5th-fastest women's run in Ultraman history, breaking her Ultraman overall finish PR by 18 minutes and scoring the second-fastest women's overall finish ever in 26:25:03. Suzy Degazon of Puerto Rico finished with a 10:01:57 run to take second women's finish in 31:23:52. First time Ultraman starter Catherine Paulson finished with an 11:15:10 run to take third woman in 33:01:34.
24th Ultraman World Championship
November 28-30, 2008
The Big Island, Hawaii
S 6.2 mi/ B 90 mi./ B 171.4 mi./ R 52.4 mi.
Final Results
Men
1. Alexandre Ribeiro (BRA) Swim 3:12:00 (7) Bike 1&2 12:22:06 (1) Run 6:15:32 (2) 21:49:38
2. Tony O'Keefe (CAN) Swim 3:04:06 (6) Bike 1&2 12:40:40 (3) Run 6:46:58 (4) 22:31:51
3. Miro Kregar (SLO) Swim 3:19:53 (16) Bike 1&2 13:06:00 (5) Run 6:14:16 (1) 22:35:24
4. Peter Kotland (CZE) Swim 3:19:53 (12) Bike 1&2 12:45:30 (4) Run 7:33:20 (5) 23:38:48
5. Carlos Conceicao (BRA) Swim 3:29:27 (14) Bike 1&2 14:11:42 (9) Run 6:46:28 (3) 24:27:17
6. Erik Seedhouse (CAN) Swim 2:55:53 (3) Bike 13:37:16 (7)) Run 8:03:59 (7) 24:37:08
7. Josef Ajram (ESP) Swim 3:35:03 (16) Bike 12:31:50 (2) Run 8:33:45 (11) 24:40:38
8. Scott Gower (USA) Swim 3:03:39 (5) Bike 1&2 13:56:03 (8)Run 8:24:46 (10) 25:24:28
9. Peter Mueller (SUI) Swim 3:14:33 (10) Bike 1&2 14:33:18 (10) Run 8:17:14 (9) 26:05:05
10. Richard Roll (USA) Swim 2:41:28 (2) Bike 1&2 14: 51:42 (12) Run 9:00:32 (15) 26:33:42
Women
1. Shanna Armstrong (USA) Swim 3:02:44 (1) Bike 1&2 15:05:06 (1) Run 8:17:13 (1) 26:25:03
2. Suzy Degazon (USA) Swim 4:59:08 (3) Bike 1&2 16:22:47 (2) Run 10:01:57 (2) 31:23:52
3. Catherine Paulson (USA) Swim 4:37:33 (2) Bike 1&2 16:52:33 (3) Run 11:16:11 (3) 32:48:22
DNF Leslie Holton (USA) Swim 5:46:58 (4) Bike 1 DNF Run 11:48:12 (4) :
