Craig Alexander wins third Ironman title; sets course record
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Alexander Craig, left, of Australia, runs ahead of Marino Vanhoenacker, of Belgium, begin the 26.2-mile marathon during the Ironman World Championship competition, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Chris Stewart)
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Ironman athletes Craig Alexander, left, and Mathias Hecht, of Switzerland, collect their bicycles on the Kailua Pier in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, to begin a 112-mile ride during the Ironman World Championship Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Stewart)
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Ironman athlete Craig Alexander, of Australia, returns to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, from a 112-mile bike ride before beginning the 26.2-mile marathon during the Ironman World Championship, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Stewart)
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii >> Craig Alexander ran away with the Ironman World Championship today, setting a course record to win the event for the third time.
The 38-year-old Australian, also the 2008 and 2009 winner, finished in 8 hours, 03 minutes, 56 seconds in the 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike ride through lava fields and marathon run in and around Kona village.
“I wish I could tell you how it feels,” Alexander said. “It’s unbelievable I wish everyone in the world could feel what I felt in the that mile. It’s the finish I’ve been dreaming of.”
Alexander leapt across the finish line, collapsed flat on his back and received hugs from his family.
The previous course record was 8:04:08 by Belguim’s Luc Van Lierde in 1996.
