10:00 Our live coverage of the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon now comes to a close. This does not mean that our coverage of the event is over––far from it. We'll have much to write about this race over the next two or three days, and we'll be writing about the bike technology here for weeks. But for now, mahalo, etc., and we hope you enjoyed the race.

9:50 Wendy Ingraham just passed by mile-25 in 7th. Gina Kehr has gone by a ways behind her, but she's moving much faster. Wingnut's 7th may be in play. Heather Fuhr has come through in 9th place with a mile to go. Once more, the top four men's and women's results:

1. Tim DeBoom 8:31:17
2. Cameron Brown 8:46:15
3. Thomas Hellriegel 8:47:40
4. Normann Stadler 8:49:42

1. Natascha Badmann 9:28:38
2. Lori Bowden 9:32:59
3. Nina Kraft 9:41:00
4. Paula Newby-Fraser 9:41:35

9:42 Smyers and Fernanda Keller pass by mile-25 in 20 and 22 minutes down respectively, in 5th and 6th places. Paula has crossed the line in 4th place in 9:41:35.

9:32 Bowden is across in 9:33 in second place.

9:30 Nina Kraft is holding strong in 3rd, 11:16 behind Badmann at this point, just short of 25-miles into the run. Newby's just run through at 13:00 down.

9:26 Natascha wins in 9:28:38.

9:26 Lori Bowden is running out of real estate. Two clicks to go and she's 4:25 down. She isn't going to make up 3 minutes a mile. It was a gallant effort on a day in which she was clearly not at her best in any of the three disciplines. Still, she's managed to drag herself up to second, which appears to be where she'll finish.

9:22 Natascha just came through mile-25, and––we spoke too soon––Glah came through about :45 behind her.

9:20 The drop out rate was staggering in the men's pro field. Dave Scott dropped, and that in itself was remarkable. Add to that Spencer Smith, Luc Van Lierde, Peter Reid, Jürgen Zäck, Paul Amey, and Tony DeBoom. Did Ken Glah finish? We don't remember seeing him. There are certainly others we don't know about yet.

9:00 3rd place in the men's race was Thomas Hellriegel in 8:47:40. Then Stadler 4th in 8:49:42. Lothar came next, then Herremans, and then Niedrig in 7th, and Widoff in 8th. We think Larsen came him in 9th, and Mauch 10th.

8:50 Bowden entered the Energy Lab 8-and-change down and they've just exited with a gap of 5:55 between them. But there's only 7 miles to go.

8:50 Brown's 8:46:10 is the slowest second place time since 1985––sixteen years ago and before the time of aero bars.

8:48 At the 25-mile mark Christoph Mauch has appeared, and he would round out the top ten.

8:47 Cameron Brown crossed in second place, in 8:46:10. Hellriegel is across in 8:47:40.

8:45 Larsen sighting. He's in 8th at this point. He's not got that place secure yet, though, because Cam Widoff is in 9th and closing.

8:42 Two kilometers to go, and Stadler comes through next, seventeen and change down, followed only a :40 seconds back by Marc Herremans of Belgium. Leder is next, then Niedrig. No sign of Larsen.

8:40 We've heard an unconfirmed report that Bowden has gone by Kraft and only has Natascha in front of her. We'll try to confirm.

8:37 Two kilometers to go in the run, and second place and thereafter are in play. Coming through in second at this spot was Cameron Brown, 13:15 back of DeBoom, and he's got a reasonably safe, though by no means secure, gap. Thomas Hellriegel is next, 14:40 back of DeBoom.

8:32 Tim DeBoom has won the 2001 Hawaiiian Ironman Triathlon. It is the first time an American male has won this race since Mark Allen did it in 1995. His unofficial time was a relatively slow 8:31:17, but quite a good time considering the very difficult conditions on the bike.

8:22 One mile and a half to go in the race, and DeBoom only has the downhill run and the final flat to the finish. Only Julie Moss has ever faltered on this stretch. And Paula Newby-Fraser. And Chris Legh. And––well––better wait until the race is over before we call it.

8:15 Tim DeBoom is going to win this race, unless something very strange happens––like what happens about once every three years. So, stay tuned. Meanwhile, back at the runner-up spot, things get curiouser and curiouser. Reports come in that Brown is now in second, but we don't know that for sure. Second through fifth are all in play. If this was the women's race––where the athletes appear to be willing to lay it all on the line to a greater degree than do the men––we'd almost expect some final-mile meltdowns. The men's race is that close.

8:00 Reports continue to come in saying that Natascha Badmann is still a minimum of 6 minutes ahead of Nina Kraft, who also holds her own on this day. Bowden, like her husband Peter Reid, is just not having the kind of day she's had in the past. Paula is hovering, about 10 minutes back, and Karen Smyers, Wendy Ingraham, Fernanda Keller, and Gina Kehr all follow at intervals that place them anywhere between 13 and 17 minutes behind Badmann.

7:58 DeBoom is separating himself from the field. He's 10:45 ahead of Steve Larsen. Otherwise, the race is contracting. At this point––19 miles into the run and just emerging from the Energy Lab out onto the Queen K for the final run-in––Cameron Brown is a scant 1:10 behind Larsen. This time he really is in second place. Normann Stadlerr is a minute and a half down on Brown, and Thomas Hellriegel––who the local radio station identified as Thomas Hilfiger––is :25 back of his countryman Stadler.

7:40 DeBoom is down in the Natural Energy Lab still taking chunks out of Larsen and the chasers. He's got 5 minutes now, and is cruising. He's going to have a fast run. Speaking of fast runs, there are some predictable fast run splits being turned in by the Japanese and by Peter Kropko. Look for perhaps Shingo Tani or Yoshiniro Tamura as well as Kropko to sneak themselves into the top ten.

7:37 Mile 9 of the run, the Natascha still leads. But the others are gaining. Nina Kraft is now just 6:20 behind, Bowden is 8:12 back, and Paula has just come through 10:50 behind. This is just like last year. Natascha faltered a bit in the 10- to 15-mile section of the run, then gathered herself and soloed in looking smart.

7:35 We can't find Spencer Smith, and we think he's out, joining the other august athletes mentioned just below. Also out is Paul Amey.

7:30 Mile 6 of the run, Natascha is up 7 minutes on Nina Kraft, and 9 minutes on Lori Bowden. Paula is 11 minutes back, and Karen Smyers is next, at about 13 minutes. Wendy Ingraham is 15 minutes back, and Fernanda trails her. Gina Kehr is next, and then Beth Zinkand, followed by Lena Wahlquist. Lori isn't closing by much, and doesn't look like she's having her day.

7:22 We just heard a report that Dave Scott is out of the race. That means that Dave, Jürgen, and Peter are all out, and that's a high mortality rate. Tough day today.

7:10 Unconfirmed report: DeBoom has now taken the lead.

7:05 The men at the to of Palani Road, which is about mile-9, are still led by Steve Larsen:

@ 2:15 Tim DeBoom
@ 6:15 Stadler
@ 9:00 Brown
@ 9:35 Hellriegel
@ 11:40 Leder, Niedrig

Close behind is Spencer Smith, and then closer to 15 minutes down are Marc Herremans, then at about 20 minutes James Bonney, Christoph Mauch, and Rolf Eggert.

6:55 The women at mile-1 of the run: Natascha leads:

@ 7:48 Nina Kraft
@ 10:15 Karen Smyers
@ 10:29 Paula Newby-Fraser
@ 10:46 Lori Bowden
@ 11:50 Wendy Ingraham
@ 14:26 Fernanda Keller
@ 16:13 Gina Kehr
@ 17:25 Beth Zinkand
@ 20:25 Lena Wahlquist
@ 21:51 Joanna Lawn

Andrea Fisher has dropped––we think because of an asthma attack––and her boyfriend Jamie Cleveland was walking her bike. They both, then, are out of the race. We are hearing that the rate of dropouts is very high.

6:48 DeBoom has closed to within two minutes of Steve Larsen. Cameron Brown is not, we are hearing, yet in third place. We're hearing that Stadler still holds third.

6:45 Peter Reid's up and down race on this day is over. He's pulled out. Meanwhile, Cameron Brown––the very talented Kiwi who's built his strength over the years––has pulled himself into third. Second place is a real possibility for Brown, if he can hold his pace and concentration.

6:25 Tim DeBoom has hit the Alii U-turn––about the 6-mile mark––flying. He smells the barn and is running like it's a 10k. He's 5 minutes down on Larsen, which means he's almost halved the gap in the first 25% of this run. Stadler is just behind DeBoom, looking shelled but actually holding his own against Larsen. Reid is back running again, and has re-passed Hellriegel, who'd passed him while he was walking. Reid motioned for Hellriegel to come up and run with him. They're only separated by 10 seconds. But another 10 seconds back is Cameron Brown, who is really turning into a factor in this race. He could find himself in third place by the 10-mile mark if he keeps his pace.

6:08 Peter Reid is walking . Tim DeBoom is closing.

6:08 Natascha's at mile-110 at this moment, so we'll get the increments as those following her come in. Results from the women's race have been limited and not of high quality. We've heard that Lori Bowden is in third, and again in sixth. We suspect the latter, but we just don't know.

6:03 No time increments––sorry––but here's the list of runners through at mile-1 of the run:

1. Larsen
2. Reid
3. Stadler
4. Tim DeBoom
5. Hellriegel
6. Brown
7. Niedrig
8. Leder

Spencer Smith is serving a penalty at this moment, and Martin Sturla is just in off the bike and heading for the chair next to Smith's.

5:53 It's going to be an interesting race. Larsen looks composed and strong. But Reid had a strong second half to his bike ride, and he is capable of running low 2:40s. A 3-minute rested DeBoom will start out only 8 minutes in back of Larsen. And then will come Luc, Spencer, and Cameron Brown, all dangerous runners. This race could come right back together again.

5:48 Tim DeBoom came into transition second, 5:10 down on Steve Larsen. But he's got to serve his 3 minutes. Peter Reid was next in, 5:17 down, but with no penalty, so he's clearly in second place. Normann Stadler had a very difficult final few miles, and is into transition perhaps 7 or 8 minutes down. Then it was Hellriegel, 9:18 down.

5:35 Tim DeBoom and Spencer Smith have penalties. They'll each have to sit in the sin bin three minutes before they start running. That's not an altogether bad thing. Luc had to sit for three minutes before he broke the course record.

5:35 Larsen wheels into transition solo. Now we'll wait and see what the time increments are.

5:15 It's clouding over, just like it did yesterday. As the men near the end of the bike ride, one must consider who is well-placed off the bike. Steve Larsen was expected to put in a monster bike ride, and he did. But will he get the lead he wants and needs? He won't have the 10- or 15-minute lead most assumed he'd need. On the other hand, the person next in line is Normann Stadler and he doesn't have the capability to run in the low 2:40s. The question is, what will Larsen's lead be on Tim DeBoom, Lothar Leder, Luc Van Lierde. But the wild card in this crowd is New Zealand's Cameron Brown. He's been very, very good in the run the last two years at his home country's Ironman, in taking second and then first. He's a closer on the run.

5:05 Uploaded are notes and pics of the Kona pre-race bike corral.

5:00 Steve Larsen has caught the leader, Normann Stadler, and put him in his rear view mirror. In our most recent report we said that the riders were at the 100-mile mark. We got the mileage wrong by about ten miles. It is now just about 95 miles into the ride, and Larsen is finally in front. What damage can he do in the final 17 miles?

4:50 Stadler remains in the lead with only a dozen miles to go in the bike ride. Steve Larsen is alone, less than a minute back. DeBoom, Reid, Niedrig, Cam Brown, Hellriegel, Leder, all follow, in that order, almost precisely separated by the same 20-second interval. Luc follows next. Then, nobody. Zäck is confirmed out, citing the back troubles that have bedeviled him for years.

4:45 We've heard that Järgen Zäck has pulled out of the race.

4:40 Selected others...

@ 11:35 Christoph Mauch
@ 14:20 Lukas Zgraggen (with a penalty marking attached)
@ 15:46 Paul Amey
@ 16:45 Alex Taubert, Mika Luoto
@ 17:15 Chris Legh
@ 25 or so minutes: First woman Nina Kraft, following by Natascha Badmann :39 behind her

4:30 Making the right hand turn at Kawaihae, and heading for home, Normann Stadler remains in the lead.

@ 2:08 Tim DeBoom, Steve Larsen, Peter Reid, Andreas Niedrig
@ 2:30 Cameron Brown
@ 3:00 Spencer Smith, Lothar Leder
@ 4:15 Van Lierde
@ 4:37 Hellriegal
@ 6:45 Widoff
@ 7:10 Ralf Eggert, James Bonney
@ 8:40 Ken Glah
@ 10:30 Tony DeBoom

4:05 The women at the Hawi turnaround: Nina Kraft was 1:55 ahead. Paula was second, with Natascha in close pursuit. Karen Smyers is close, followed by Wendy Ingraham, Beth Zinkand, and in the first sighting of the day, Lori Bowden. Zeiger is more than 8-minutes behind now. She rode 5:40 last year, compared to Badmann's 5:06. So, although it may seem like Zeiger is fading significantly, it's a much better time increment now than it was vis-a-vis Badmann's last year's split.

4:00 Stadler has pulled himself out front of the rest. He holds a two-minute lead on Tim DeBoom, Lothar Leder, and Andreas Niedrig. Another minute back is Spencer Smith. Nina Kraft leads the women by ninety seconds.

3:45 Nina Kraft has apparently gone into the lead in the women's race at a point close to the Hawi turnaround. Newby moves to second, and Natascha Badmann is reportedly in third. Normann Stadler is pushing the men's pace, meanwhile, with Tim DeBoom marking him. Age-group star Amy Farrell from the U.S. has dropped from the race, fearing the strong and scary wind conditions. She won't be the only one to drop for this reason.

3:38 Spectators waiting at Kawaihae for the riders to return from Hawi report wind so strong it's blowing people over as they're standing. Reports on the radio say the winds are gusting to 50 mph.

3:22 Newby takes the lead! At least according to unconfirmed reports. Nina Kraft is moving up well, and Smyers is closing. This bodes well for her, since the ride has not been kind to Karen Smyers in Kona, evening in the year she won. We don't precisely know where Zinkand is, except that she's up somewhere near the front. Badmann is not far back either, and Nicole DeBoom has also moved up into contention. Where they all precisely are on the road is a mystery, because cell phones don't work in that 20-mile stretch between Kawaihae and Hawi.

3:15 Reports are that the DeBoom/Stadler group has caught the leading Germans. That will be a formidable pack. Meanwhile, we keep hearing Beth Zinkand's name, with Paula not far behind. Zinkand may, in fact, have caught and passed Zeiger for the lead. Wendy Ingraham is looming. The interesting thing about Paula being so close is that she gets better as the ride goes on. Heather Fuhr was sighted quite a ways back.

2:50 Out at Kawaihae, the winds are howling. They aren't the headwinds that during some years hit the riders straight in the face––causing them to ride in small chain rings and large cogs––this is a vicious sidewind. Leder and Niedrig still lead. Stadler and Tim DeBoom have separated themselves from the other chasers, and sit about :30 back. Next are the only remainders of what was a large chase pack: Glah, Tony DeBoom, Ralf Eggert, and Cameron Brown. We think Luc is also in that group. After that, the wind and the pace has shattered the remainder of the chase pack. At various time increments in arrears are, in more or less order, Spencer Smith, Peter Reid, Thomas Hellriegel, and James Bonney, plus a couple that we've missed. That accounts for most of the riders within the first five minutes of the Niedrig and Leder. After that, at :30, were Mauch and Zäck. Then, at precisely 6 minutes down from the leaders, is Steve Larsen. 8:45 back of Niedrig is Dave Scott.

2:20 Zeiger leads the women. What a difference a year makes. With solid long-distance training behind her she's got the confidence to take it out hard over the lava fields. Nicole DeBoom has moved up to second, with Gina Kehr close to the top of the women's leader board as well.

2:15 This is the situation at Waikoloa. That chase group just mentioned is growing, as is expected. Glah, Mauch, Stadler, and others are part of it. Not sure, but it appears that Ralf Eggert may've drifted back to it. The pack seems to be satisfied to let the Germans dangle out front. Perhaps they're looking at each other, or at Reid and Van Lierde. Zäck had a bad swim, and so will benefit from the group's indecision. His only chance is to catch that group early, and prepare himself for his patented hard charge on the way back from Kawaihae.

2:05 Out on the lava fields Andreas Niedrig is––very surprisingly––the one pushing the pace. Historically, the heroin-junkie-turned-triathlete (famous in Germany for his autobiographical account of his transformation) has been a swimmer-runner. An inkling of his newfound ability on the bike, however, came at this year's Ironman Europe. Leder, who trails Niedrig at this moment in the race only by seconds, rode with Niedrig throughout the bike ride, and out to a decisive advantage. Niedrig finally faltered near the end of the run, and Leder won that race, 8:10 to 8:18. The two Germans seem to believe they can reproduce the power of their winning partnership here, and so far it's working. The chase group that is forming––which includes Van Lierde, the DeBooms, Reid, Hellriegel, and others––is a ways back and not able to catch up.

1:42 DeBoom stands down! Just a minute ago Tim DeBoom was given a stand-down penalty, which means he'll have to serve time in the sin bin after the ride is over. He was with the Leder/Eggert/Niedrig group, but is now just behind. Still no sign of Zack. In our earlier report we missed a few who are mixed into all the other riders––and are nearer the front––and they include Hellriegel and Van Lierde. One other note: The calm winds out on the lava fields are a history. The wind has picked up with a vengeance.

1:35 At the Kuakini U-turn Steve Larsen was reported to have crested the hill exactly 10-minutes behind the leaders. So far Larsen has not made up much, or any, of his deficit. Jill Savege from Canada is riding with Wingnut and Zeiger. These are the lead three. Zeiger ran a 3:06 here last year, but that was after a very pedestrian bike ride. Zeiger appears to be ready to ride in this Kona installment. Last year, remember, Zeiger was just coming off her Olympic experience. It makes sense that she'd have taken the bike ride easy.

1:25 The fog of was has lifted, and here is the first very reliable recap we've gotten. First, the swim was officially slow, by about three minutes. The conditions were difficult, which accounts for the marginal rough water swimmers––like Zäck––having a difficult swim. At the U-turn at the top of Kuakini Highway, entering the Queen K Highway, here's how it stands:

Sheldreake leads, followed by...

@ :18 Sibbersel
@ 1:15 Lothar Leder, Ralk Eggert
@ 1:30 Tim DeBoom, Tamura, Tony DeBoom, Andreas Niedrig, Cameron Brown
@ 1:55 Spencer Smith, Faris Al-Sultan, Takumi Obara, and age-grouper from Japan, and Kenny Glah
@ 2:20 James Bonney, Jan Rehula, Bryan Rhodes, John Van Wisse, and Brit Paul Amey, who is an extremely talented short-courser doing his first race in Kona. He is capable of a podium finish.
@ 2:25 Dave Scott
@ 2:55 Peter Reid, Len Gushe, Brent Lorenzen, Christoph Mauch, and Lance Muszlay

Our spotter at this point reports that Normann Stadler is 4:30 back, which is at odds with our previous info. We'll find out about this and report back.

1:18 Of some concern is the whereabouts of Jürgen Zack. He's not apparently near the leaders or the following Germans. Also, Yank iron rookie Ryan Bolton was sighted a bit of a ways back––certainly not the sort of swim consistent with his ability. It's obviously still early, and looking forward the winds out at Waikoloa appear to be relatively light.

1:15 Leder, Tim DeBoom, and Eggert are still chasing the lead pair, drawing closer. Not far behind are Luc Van Lierde, a very dangerous Andreas Niedrig, Tony DeBoom, and closing toward that gap another dangerrous talent, New Zealand's Cameron Brown. Twenty seconds down are the beginnings of the German train, along with a pretty good Canadian: Normann Stadler, Thomas Hellreigel, and Peter Reid. Tony DeBoom appears to also be in that group, and America's Cam Widoff trails that group by a narrow margin.

1:08 Larsen sighting! He is on the bike and riding just behind Natascha Badmann. They both passed just arrears of Canada's Lisa Bentley, and that sounds like what would be the one-hour swim group, judging by swim results in years past. Our dead reckoning means that Larsen should've given up about 7 or 8 minutes on the Leder/DeBoom group. Rumor is that both Tim's brother Tony and Japanese threat Yoshiniro Tamura are also near, or in, the front group.

1:05 Jan Sibbersen of Germany was first out of the water, and he and Sheldrake are just about to be passed by Lothar Leder, Tim DeBoom, and Ralf Eggert as they go up the new Kuakini Highway hill.

:53 Most of the leaders are out, including two top women contenders Wendy Ingraham and Joanna Zeiger. We've heard that Tim DeBoom's time out of the water was 53:10, which would be very slow for him. Perhaps overall the swim times were slow this year. The Man Dave Scott is out of the water in good shape as well.

:50 Shows you what we know. First out was a German we're still working to identify, and second out was Stephen Sheldrake of New Zealand. The time appeared to be in the 48- to 49-minute range, certainly not all that fast compared to the historic swims of, say, Lars Jorgensen.

:45 A pair of swimmers are off the front and approaching the finish. One assumes that Bryan Rhodes will be one of them, especially because the swim course record is not going to be in jeopardy this year, based on the pace.

:35 They're two-thirds of the way through the swim, and nothing much to report. Until they exit the water we won't know too much, as our spotters are all land-based. Mark Allen was just interviewed on local radio, and he thinks Thomas Hellriegel looks good for today's race. Allen knows how hard it is to beat a fit Hellriegel. In 1995 the German rode a 4:29 to put 14 minutes into Allen by the end of the bike, and the latter had to run a 2:42 marathon to haul himself past the German and into first place.

T-minus 5 minutes As has been the case for now ten years running, the Kona bike survey was tabulated last night, and we'll be putting up snippets of the survey throughout the coverage today.

T-minus 15 minutes Weather is clear and cool, a typical morning in Kona. Yesterday there was a bit of wind at midday and early afternoon, which if present today will make the run slightly less nasty. What we don't know is what the winds might be like out on the Queen K Highway.

T-minus 30 minutes It's race morning, and we'll start with drops. We know who dropped, but we don't know why. Most notable among the men is Denmark's Peter Sandvang. Also not making the start were German neo-pro Kai-Michael Roeckert, and wunder-master Jeff Cuddeback. Women missing are Denmark's Susanne Nielsen, leaving iron rookie Lisbeth Kristensen as the lone Danish hope for a top finish. Other women not starting are a pair of young talented Australians, Belinda Cheney and Jo King.

Owner of the North American Ironman series Graham Fraser had intended to do the race, but is a late scratch. So is challenged athletes Clarinda Brueck and David Bailey. Top age-grouper Darrin Rohr is a non-starter. Canadian pro Dave Harju is not racing, and neither is20-24 age-group winner last year Elizabeth Anderson.

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