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2008 FORD HAWAII IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Big Island, Saturday October 11th, 2008.

Distance: 2.4 mi. swim • 112 mi. bike • 26.2 mi. run

Here are the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championship winners!!!

Find great photos and complete results of 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua Kona, Big Island of Hawaii: here.

History of Hawaii Ironman Triathlon
Every October, on the Saturday closest to the full moon, about 1,500 of the world's fittest people tackle one of the toughest endurance events, the Hawaii Ironman triathlon.

The Ironman is a day-long event. It starts with a four-kilometre swim, followed by a 180-kilometre bike race, topped off with a 42-kilometre marathon run. Although anyone can enter most Ironman races, competitors at Hawaii Ironman Triathlon world championship have qualified at another event or won a lottery slot.

Surviving the hot, windy and desolate lava fields in Hawaii's Kona region is as much an extreme mental test as a physical one. Triathlon’s roots can be traced back to 1974, Mission Bay, Southern California where a group of friends began training together. Amongst them were runners, swimmers and cyclists and before long training sessions turned into informal races. Directed and conceived by Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan the first Mission Bay Triathlon was held on September 25th 1974 and welcomed 46 athletes. Triathlon’s foundations had been set!

In Hawaii, 1978, an argument arose regarding which of the three disciplines required the greatest endurance. At that time Hawaii hosted The Waikiki Rough Water Swim (2.4 miles), The Oahu Bike Race (112 miles) and The Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles). Originally events in themselves, they were rolled into one to become the ‘Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.’

The event attracted 15 athletes and of them only 12 crossed the finish line. By 1982 the Hawaii Ironman gained extensive coverage on ABC World Wide Sport and participation levels had increased to 580 competitors. Last year over 3000 athletes completed the grueling challenge. The fastest women finish the course in just under nine hours and the fastest men finishing in little over 8 hours.

The next Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship takes place in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Big Island on October 15, 2005.

WHAT:
A 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to finish. Cutoff times are also applied to the swim (2:20 after start of race) and the bike (10:30 after the start of race.)

WHERE:
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The swim segment begins and ends at the pier in Kailua. The bike race travels north on the Kona Coast to the small village of Hawi, and then returns along the same route to the new transition area at the King Kamahamaha Hotel. The marathon course travels through Kailua and onto the same highway used for the bike race. Contestants run back into Kailua-Kona, coming down Alii Drive to the cheers of more than 25,000 people at the finish line.

WHO:
Up to 2,000 competitors, ages 18-80, compete from 50-plus countries and all 50 states. Upwards of 50,000 competitors attempt to qualify at Ironman qualifying races worldwide. Another 4,000 enter the race lottery, which awards 150 slots to U.S. citizens and 50 slots to international athletes. In recognition of their athletic accomplishment, age group champions automatically qualified for the next year's race.

We recommend to our guests who’d like to experience this ultimate endurance test ‘live’ to either leave their cottage early in the morning around 5am in order to find a parking lot in Kailua-Kona and a good position in Alii Drive for watching the most spectacular scene when thousands of participants jump in the Pacific Ocean at 7am sharp for their 2.4mile swim…or if they are not early birds but still would like to get a glimpse of the participants and feel the heat of the competition (and Hawaii!), drive their car about 5 miles from our cottages to the junction of Hwy 19 and Hwy 270 to cheer the triathlon bikers on their way to Hawi. The Hawaii Triathlon World Championship on the Big Island of Hawaii is a once in a life time experience you don’t want to miss.

Here are a few photos taken by our German guests at 2004 Hawaii Ironman event in Kailua Kona, Big Island.:

Hawaii Ironman Triathlon	Spectators waiting for start at 7 a.m.	Over 1,700 athletes are getting ready
first leg - 2.4 miles ocean swim	Bike start	athletes jump on their bikes
bikers leave Kona town	Kawaihae - Kohala Coast	bikers turn onto Hwy 270 to Hawi
Historic town Hawi greets bikers	Norman Stadler on his way to victory	Germans cheer their countrymen

If our amateur photos don't satisfy your expectations, find more professionally taken photos of the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon or other wordclass Triathlon events at Digital Triathlon.

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