Video by David Corrigan | Big Island Video News

This year, Ironman drew 1,778 athletes to the start line, with 1,653 crossing the finish line before the 17 hour cut off. If you want to see who holds the distinction of being the 2009 final Ironman, just click on the link below.

The athletes came from 46 states and something like 60 countries (the actual, real, official count varied all day between 57, 58 and, at one point, was up to 61 – depending on who you asked).

And we can look forward to doing this all again next year. Ironman is committed to bringing the race back to Kona for its 32nd annual running and a Ironman spokeswoman said the World Triathlon Corporation has no plans to move the race from the Big Island.

The Top 100 Finishers
For a complete list of finishers click here

    Pos     Time   Name
--------  -------- ------------------
    1     08:20:21 Alexander, Craig
    2     08:22:56 Lieto, Chris
    3     08:24:32 Raelert, Andreas
    4     08:25:20 McCormack, Chris
    5     08:28:17 Henning, Rasmus
    6     08:28:52 Bracht, Timo
    7     08:29:55 Bockel, Dirk
    8     08:30:15 Jacobs, Pete
    9     08:30:30 Potts, Andy
   10     08:31:44 Al-Sultan, Faris
   11     08:34:45 Bozzone, Terenzo
   12     08:35:10 Twelsiek, Maik
   13     08:37:29 Hecht, Mathias
   14     08:37:55 Llanos, Eneko
   15     08:38:38 McKenzie, Luke
   16     08:41:13 Jammaer, Bert
   17     08:48:53 Alonso-McKernan, C
   18     08:49:15 Schildknecht, Ronn
   19     08:49:22 Sturla, Eduardo
   20     08:51:35 Vuckovic, Stephan
   21     08:53:14 Colucci, Reinaldo
   22     08:53:41 Brown, Cameron
   23     08:54:02 Wellington, Chriss
   24     08:54:27 Morales, Ezequiel
   25     08:55:11 Clerbout, Bruno
   26     08:55:54 Weiss, Michael
   27     08:57:39 Brader, Christian
   28     08:58:06 Raphael, Jan
   29     08:58:35 Morales, Gregorio
   30     08:59:53 Patrcevic, Dejan
   31     09:01:30 Vytrisal, Frank
   32     09:01:32 Mueller, Christian
   33     09:04:03 Werner, Stefan
   34     09:04:35 Anderson, Mitchell
   35     09:05:18 Renko, Max
   36     09:06:20 Tollakson, TJ
   37     09:07:41 Kuwabara, Hirotsug
   38     09:07:59 White, Matt
   39     09:08:49 Schifferle, Mike
   40     09:09:06 Diepart, Xavier
   41     09:09:14 Rotem, Gilad
   42     09:09:38 Van Lierde, Freder
   43     09:09:51 Mikelson, Ian
   44     09:09:59 Nielsen, Tommy
   45     09:11:07 Neill, Mike
   46     09:11:24 Andersen, Bent
   47     09:12:30 Kappelhoff, Uwe
   48     09:13:57 Elgezabal, Mikel
   49     09:13:59 Carfrae, Mirinda
   50     09:14:07 Billeau, Simon
   51     09:14:46 Lieto, Matt
   52     09:14:59 Van Lierde, Luc
   53     09:15:05 Helin, Pieter
   54     09:15:13 Veith, Roman
   55     09:15:16 Haak, Steffen
   56     09:15:28 Berasategui, Virgi
   57     09:16:02 Graves, Philip
   58     09:16:45 Meyer, Serge
   59     09:17:13 Hola, Tim
   60     09:17:19 Hiebl, Bernhard
   61     09:18:00 Okyay, Mustafa
   62     09:18:30 Reed, Tim
   63     09:18:34 Aigroz, Mike
   64     09:19:36 Wetzel, Michael
   65     09:19:49 De Weerdt, Koen
   66     09:19:56 Bayliss, Stephen
   67     09:20:11 Goerke, Nils
   68     09:20:40 Westerberg, Staffa
   69     09:20:52 Jansen, Mark
   70     09:21:06 Seng, Brad
   71     09:21:20 Violin, Ciro
   72     09:22:11 Invernizzi, Bruno
   73     09:22:33 Clark, Doug
   74     09:23:03 Vabrousek, Petr
   75     09:23:07 Houzelle, Fabrice
   76     09:23:13 Nishiuchi, Hiroyuk
   77     09:23:24 Buxhofer, Matthias
   78     09:23:37 Knobloch, Enrico
   79     09:23:43 Macel, Tereza
   80     09:23:50 Nastic, Igor
   81     09:24:28 McGrath, Jeff
   82     09:24:37 Acevedo, Rodrigo
   83     09:24:52 Ayerza, Jon
   84     09:25:05 Cunnama, James
   85     09:25:33 Schroeder, Andreas
   86     09:25:33 Wallimann, Patrick
   87 DQ  09:25:48 Keat, Rebekah
   88     09:26:17 Stilgenbauer, Juer
   89     09:26:31 Guadagni, Massimo
   90     09:26:51 Landon, Damien
   91     09:27:09 Brunold, Thomas
   92     09:27:46 Naylor, Timothy
   93     09:27:47 Topan, Luiz
   94     09:27:49 Otstot, Adam
   95     09:28:05 Du Bey, Jesse
   96     09:28:14 Delsaut, Trevor
   97     09:28:45 Rossmann, Benjamin
   98     09:29:01 Iott, Scott
   99     09:29:16 Gyde, Sam
  100 DQ  09:29:25 Park, Byung Hoon
  101     09:29:41 Tani, Shingo
  102     09:29:54 Hoffman, Ben

For a complete list of finishers click here

MEDIA RELEASE

Re-Air of NBC Ironman Coverage Rescheduled to Sat. July 25

Don’t miss the re-air of the Emmy award winning coverage of the Ford Ironman World Championship on NBC (KHNL in Hawaii) this Saturday, July 25, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. HST

For an 18th consecutive year, NBC showcases the ultimate showdown of raw athletic competition and human perseverance — the Ford Ironman World Championship.The 90-minute special, a network television staple since the 1980s, has won a total of 14 Emmy Awards during the race’s illustrious history. Emmy-Award winning narrator, Al Trautwig, will provide the voiceover for this year’s broadcast.

The event celebrated its 30th anniversary on Oct. 11 when more than 1,700 of the world’s fittest athletes from all walks of life braved the harsh elements of Hawaii including one of the highest record temperatures to date, while attempting to earn the title of “Ironman” in Kailua-Kona. Athletes ranging from 18 to 79 years of age competed in the world-famous 140.6-mile odyssey: a 2.4-mile Pacific Ocean swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon in a classic battle against the sweltering heat – and themselves.

The broadcast features the intense back-and-forth competition among the world’s top professionals, which showcases the winners – Australia’s Craig Alexander and returning champion, Chrissie Wellington from Great Britain. NBC also highlights the day-long exploits of several unique age group athletes who defined the meaning of courage throughout the broadcast including:

• Ricky James, former amateur motocross racer who suffered an accident while racing in 2005 and is now a paraplegic, completed the world championship for the first time. Leading up to this year’s race, James was trained by David Bailey, winner of the Hand Cycle division at the 2000 Ironman World Championship.
• Jeff Conine, a 17-year major league baseball star as first baseman/outfielder. He was a valuable member of both Florida Marlins’ World Series Championships teams. He played with them during two separate stints, 1993-1997 and 2003-2005. Conine has been an avid fan of Ironman for years, tuning in each year to the annual NBC broadcast.
• David Goggins, a member of the NavySEALS, as well as an endurance athlete, who has completed several ultramarathons. He races to raises money in honor of 11 military personnel who were killed in Afghanistan in 2005 – Goggins attended training school with four of them. He vowed to raise funds for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which pays the college tuition for children of special-operations personnel killed in the line of duty. He has raised nearly $300,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
• Keith Davids, is a decorated U.S. NavySEAL and commanding officer of SEAL Team ONE. He views the Ford Ironman World Championship not only as a feat of mental and physical strength, but also as an amazing event to promote SEAL recruiting. Commander Davids’ personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Bronze Star with combat “V”, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Commendation Medal with combat “V” and various other personal and campaign medals including the Combat Action Ribbon, and the prestigious Presidential Unit Citation.
• Sean Swarner, a 34-year-old two-time terminal cancer survivor and the first cancer survivor to summit Mt. Everest participated in his first Ford Ironman World Championship. When Sean watched the World Championship on the annual NBC broadcast from his hospital bed, he vowed to make it his next conquest. Since climbing Everest, Sean has climbed the highest mountain on each continent, also known as the seven summits, and has more climbing ambitions planned for 2009.
• Harriet Anderson, is the oldest female participant in this year’s Ford Ironman World Championship. The 72-year-old veteran has been competing in the World Championship race since 1989, and is a returning Kona champion in the Women’s 70-74 age group. She finished this year’s race in 16 hours and 17 minutes – just 43 minutes shy of the official race cut-off.

“The NBC broadcast was the inspiration for me to get involved in Ironman. Seeing so many different athletes from all walks of life competing together is like no other event in the world,” said Conine. “Having the opportunity this year to compete in the Ford Ironman World Championship and race alongside some of the best athletes in the sport, has been a dream come true.”

The broadcast of the Ford Ironman World Championship has taken viewers on a step-by-step journey into several of the most inspirational, heart-warming human interest stories in race history including:
Julie Moss’ famous crawl across the Ali’i Drive finish line in 1982 – an image that is still etched in the minds of millions today.

Dick Hoyt has proven a father’s love for his son is immeasurable. Dick, a retired lieutenant colonel with the Air National Guard, swam, rode and ran with his son Rick, a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, the entire 140.6-miles to the finish line at the 1999 Ironman World Championship.

Sarah Reinertsen, a below-the-knee amputee, found redemption at the 2005 Ford Ironman World Championship. After failing to make the bike cut-off the previous year, the California native crossed the finish line in 15:05:12 to a thunderous ovation.

The 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship was taken by storm from a rookie who had made her Ironman debut just seven weeks prior. Chrissie Wellington from Great Britain, claimed the women’s title finished in 9:08:45, which was almost six minutes ahead of the second place finisher, Samantha McGlone.

Don’t miss this year’s inspirational and exciting coverage of the world’s greatest endurance event on NBC, which will re-air this Saturday, July 25, from 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. HST. Please check your local listings for the time in your area.

MEDIA RELEASE

The Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) will auction a prized slot to the Ford Ironman World Championship, organized and conducted by the World Triathlon Corporation, at a gala dinner in New York City on June 10. The winning bidder (or his/her designee) may compete in either 2009 or 2010. Proceeds from the auction will help fund specialized equipment, training and coaching for physically challenged athletes so they can participate in the sports that many able-bodied individuals take for granted.

Interested parties can bid on the coveted slot in one of two ways: In person, by buying a ticket for A Celebration of Heroes, Heart and Hope (tickets are $500; discounts available for NY-area triathlon club members; go towww.heroesheartandhope.com to learn more) or by downloading and completing a proxy bid form atwww.challengedathletes.org and faxing it to 858.866.0958. Proxy bid forms will be accepted through Noon (PST) on Tuesday, June 9. The minimum opening bid for proxy bidders is $20,000 and, during the live auction, bids will be made in increments of $1,000 until the bidder’s maximum bid is reached. The winning bidder must have completed an Ironman 70.3 or other long distance triathlon by Oct. 1 prior to the Hawaii race date and is required to submit a completed athlete waiver to Ironman. For a complete list of auction rules, go to: www.challengedathletes.org.
“As we prepare for our third annual event, we recognize the importance of the event sponsors like Ironman,” said Virginia Tinley, CAF’s Executive Director. “The Ironman slot has always been a significant and extremely popular item in the live auction, and has raised many thousands of dollars to support the important mission of the Challenged Athletes Foundation.”

Held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, A Celebration of Heroes, Heart and Hope will feature challenged athlete “stars,” celebrities, and notable New Yorkers. Funds raised at the event will help challenged athletes overcome the economic roadblocks to participation in sports and live life to the fullest. This year’s gala will honor Mark Holowesko, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Holowesko Partners Ltd. for his leadership, contributions and athletic success.

About Challenged Athletes Foundation
Since 1994, the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) has raised more than $21 million and satisfied more than 4,000 funding requests from challenged athletes around the world via its Access for Athletes program. CAF provide funding directly to physically challenged individuals for the acquisition of adaptive sports equipment like sports wheelchairs, mono-skis, tandem bicycles, handcycles and sports prosthetics. Additionally CAF provides funds to entry- and elite-level athletes for training and competition expenses. Through its other programs – Catch a Rising Star (mentoring and introduction to sports), Operation Rebound (for U.S. military personnel and first responders injured while serving) and Reach High (community outreach), the organization reaches an additional 65,000 individuals per year. In 2009, CAF distributed more than $1.36 million in funding to 765 individuals in 49 U.S. states and 25 countries. To learn more, log on to www.challengedathletes.org or call 858-866-0959.

About Ironman

World Triathlon Corporation, owners and organizers of Ironman, is a Florida-based company recognized for athletic excellence, performance and quality products. With the addition of the Ironman 70.3 Series, Ironman now has more than 42 qualifying events worldwide. Supported by partners that include Ford Motor Company, Dell, Timex and Gatorade, Ironman is the No.1 user-based sports brand in the world. Ironman has been a respected name in triathlon since its inception nearly 30 years ago and is regarded as the world’s most challenging endurance event. Millions may remember moments in Ironman history such as Julie Moss’ crawl to the finish line in 1982, which was showcased on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Each year, more than 80,000 athletes compete for slots in the Ford Ironman World Championship held every October in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and the Ironman World Championship 70.3 held every November in Clearwater, FL. The Ironman brand has been featured in a range of media outlets to include NBC, CNN Headline News, The Wall Street Journal, People,Sports Illustrated, The New York Times and USA Today.