The 2009 Ironman World Championships were owned by the reigning champion
Chrissie Wellington, who secured her third consecutive title with a new course record of 8:54:03, erasing the previous mark set 17 years ago Saturday, October 10th in Kona, Hawaii.
“I never thought that I would come here and break the record,” said Wellington immediately after finishing the race. “This was definitely the hardest Ironman I have ever done. I had to dig deep. I am so proud of what I achieved today. Thank you so much, and I hope I can continue to be a champion you can always be proud of.”
Wellington entered the race with the goal of going faster than ever before. The prior year, she won the race in 9:06:23 and was confident that this year would be something special. When asked which portions of her race she was looking to go faster, she boldly replied, “all of them-the swim, the bike, the run.” That was the confidence that would fuel her into the morning’s start.
The race began at 6:46am, with the temperature already climbing through the 80s and a humidity of 70 percent. The heat would reach into the upper 90s, with the sun blazing down the entire field to add another obstacle for all 1,796 who began the race.
The swim leg started for Wellington as expected, keeping up with the lead swimmers and remaining consistent and strong in the
Tracer Sayonara. She did not expend unnecessary energy and demonstrated it was going to be a good day from the start, splitting her fastest swim split by over two minutes in 54:31 and finishing 8th out of the water on the women’s pro field.
The 112-mile bike in the extreme heat of the day was pounding on all of the athletes, but Wellington could not be slowed down. As commentators followed her bike, the theme of their conversations on her was always pure dominance.
Through mile 40 of the race, Wellington was only 11 minutes behind the men’s leader. She tore up the entire bike leg, using the Kawaihae portion of the bike to further her distance on the women’s field and still trail not too far behind the men. She climbed the hills sitting on her aero bars, taking control, with the winds picking up as she closed into town. Flying towards the T2, she split an astounding 4:52:07. This year’s split crushed last years, where she clocked 5:08:15. Into T2, she was 11:06 ahead of the next women.
Wellington entered the marathon portion of the Ironman continuing to run away from the field. There were no clouds to cover the sun beating down on the athletes, but that would not stop Wellington from closing on the finish line in fiery speed. She got into a rhythm quickly with a smooth tempo. Key to the marathon was her ability to get fluid and nutrition in the entire leg.
Early in mile five, Wellington had a 13:27 lead on the next girl, and at 10.3 miles in she was 17:37 ahead of Virginia Verasategui at 6:58:18. Running down the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, it was clear she owned the race.
Closing in on the second half of the run to complete the race, it became obvious that Wellington was now racing the clock, not the competitors. She was checking her watch, and gunning for the course world record. In the last two miles running down Ali’i Drive, the cheers and support of the crowd fueled her as she came through the home stretch-smiling from ear-to-ear. To take the record along with the championships, she would need to hold a seven minute mile pace in the end.
She did just that, finishing in true championship form with a marathon split of 3:03:06. Wellington crossed the finish line with tears, arms held up high, and a British flag in hand. She captured her third consecutive Ironman World Championship title, finishing in 8:54:03, to rewrite the record that stood for 17 years.
Wellington remains undefeated in the Ironman distance races, and the Ironman World Championships, and an inspiration to all those who follow her accomplishments. TYR congratulations both her and the rest of the TYR sponsored athletes for their outstanding performances at the 2009 Ironman World Championships.
