October 11, 2008 (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii) – Today, Australia’s Craig Alexander and Great Britain’s Chrissie Wellington celebrated first-place titles at the 30th anniversary of the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Alexander, with an Ironman 70.3 World Championship title in addition to a second-place finish last year in Kona, crossed the line with a time of 8:17:45. Defending her current World Championship title, Wellington finished more than ten minutes ahead of her fellow competitors at 9:06:23.

Alexander dominated an impressive men’s field consisting of Ironman World Champions such as Chris McCormack, Normann Stadler, Faris Al-Sultan and other top contenders including Chris Lieto, Eneko Llanos, Torbjorn Sindballe, Cameron Brown and Rutger Beke. Alexander, among the top ten throughout the bike portion, further showcased his running prowess taking the lead at the turnaround.
Top ten results for the professional men’s race are as follows:
1. Craig Alexander AUS 8:17:45
2. Eneko Burguera Llanos ESP 8:20:50
3. Rutger Beke BEL 8:21:23
4. Ronnie Schildknecht SUI 8:21:46
5. Cameron Brown NZL 8:26:17
6. Patrick Vernay NCL 8:30:23
7. Andy Potts USA 8:33:50
8. Mathias Hecht SUI 8:34:02
9. Michael Lovato USA 8:34:47
10. Eduardo Sturla ARG 8:36:53

Despite mechanical trouble, Wellington took the women’s lead approximately 30 miles into the bike and eclipsed the current women’s run course record with a blistering marathon time of 2:57:44. Today’s third-place female, Sandra Wollenhorst, also broke the women’s run course record with a time of 2:58:35.

The top ten professional women’s results are as follows:
1. Chrissie Wellington GBR 9:06:23
2. Yvonne Van Vlerken NLD 9:21:20
3. Sandra Wallenhorst DEU 9:22:52
4. Erika Csomor HUN 9:24:49
5. Linsey Corbin USA 9:28:51
6. Virginia Berasategui ESP 9:29:15
7. Bella Comerford GBR 9:34:08
8. Gina Ferguson NZL 9:36:53
9. Gina Kehr USA 9:37:06
10. Dede Griesbauer USA 9:39:53

This year’s Timex Ironman Watch Bonuses, totaling $20,000, were awarded to:
Bike – Torbjorn Sindballe and Chrissie Wellington
Run – Normann Stadler and Chrissie Wellington

In addition to a highly competitive professional field, a variety of inspirational age group athletes competed including Major League Baseball veteran, Jeff Conine, with a time of 14:43:45, and Sean Swarner, a two-time cancer survivor with one lung, who crossed the line at 11:44:15. In addition, Keith Davids, Commanding Officer of Navy SEAL Team One, completed the event in 11:24:00.

The event saw 1,731 athletes officially start the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run on the Big Island of Hawaii. NBC will air the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship on December 13, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST. Please check your local listings for specific details.