Kienle, Carfrae Take Kona
Ben Hoffman of Boulder finishes second
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Germany’s Sebastian Kienle won his first Ironman World Championship Saturday with a time of 8 hours, 14 minutes, and 18 seconds.
The 31-year-old beat second-place American finisher Ben Hoffman by more than five minutes. The duo dueled throughout the race, with Hoffman snagging an early 3:18 advantage on Kienle after the swim. But the Boulder, Colorado, resident lost over 11 minutes to the German on the bike leg, and was unable to close the gap during the run.
Andy Potts, the only other top-ten American finisher, nabbed fourth place, more than seven minutes off the winning time.
Mirinda Carfrae of Australia won the women’s field for the third time, finishing with a time of 9:00:55. Kona rookie Daniela Ryf of Switzerland placed second and last year’s runner-up, Rachel Joyce of Britain, rounded out the podium.