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Posted at 6:02 p.m., Sunday, October 22, 2006

Ironman winner felt he could repeat

By Ron Staton
Associated Press

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii - After arriving in Hawaii, 2004 winner Normann Stadler was asked if he thought he could again win the Ironman Triathlon World Championship.

He was incredulous.

"Of course I thought I could win; otherwise why would I be here?" said Stadler after winning his second Hawaii Ironman title Saturday. His finish time of 8 hours, 11 minutes and 56 seconds for the 140.6-mile endurance test was the seventh fastest in the 28 years of the Hawaii race.

The 33-year-old from Mannheim, Germany had withdrawn from the 2005 race following an emotional breakdown resulting from two flat tires during the bicycle ride.

But this year he sailed through the 112-mile bicycle course in record time, taking more than three minutes off the 2005 record pace with a 4 hour, 18 minute and 23 second ride.

That fast ride also gave him the lead he needed in the 26.2-mile marathon run. At the 12-mile mark of the run, Stadler had a lead of 8 minutes and 28 seconds over Chris McCormack of Sydney, Australia, who is known for his running prowess.

McCormack started narrowing the gap, and was less than two minutes behind at the 23-mile mark.

"When I was within two and a half minutes I thought maybe I could do it," said McCormack, who was sixth last year and finished second at 8:13:07. "I threw everything at him in the last 10 kilometers."

"I was ready for a sprint finish," said Stadler, who expressed pride that he is the first German to win the Hawaii race twice.

He said comments made by now-retired former champion Peter Reid in an interview provided him extra motivation.

"He said that I couldn't run, but I showed that I can run," Stadler said.

McCormack said he looks forward to another chance at winning the Ironman.

"I'll have other Ironman races," said McCormack. "I'll have another day. I'll step up to the plate."

Michellie Jones, of Sydney, Australia, who has spent most of her nearly 20-year triathlon career doing short races, won the women's title in only her fourth Ironman distance race.

"I never thought I would do an Ironman," said the 37-year-old Jones, who finished second in her first Hawaii race last year.

"It was an Ironman, so the whole time I was thinking, 'Why in hell am I out here?'" she said. But she said coming back and winning in only her second Hawaii race was "awesome."

She held a narrow lead at the end of the bicycle ride but widened the gap during the run.

While light winds resulted in fast bike times, heat and humidity made the race tough, the athletes said. The age-group runners who followed the pros also had to deal with a brief but heavy downpour. The race also included a 2.4-mile ocean swim.

A total of 1,689 triathletes, mostly amateurs, began the race, and 1,627 finished.

The final finisher was 76-year-old Sister Madonna Buder of Spokane, Wash., who crossed the line 57 seconds before the midnight 17-hour cutoff.

Others among the top 10 men were defending champion Faris Al-Sultan of Germany, 8:19:04; Rutger Beke, Belgium, 8:21:04; Eneko Llanos, Spain, 8:22:08; Marino Vanhoenacker, Belgium, 8:24:17; Luke Bell, Australia, 8:24:26; Cameron Brown, New Zealand, 8:25:22; Chris Lieto, Danville, Calif., 8:27:37; and Patrick Vernay, New Caledonia, 8:28:13.

Following Jones in the women's standings were Desiree Ficker, Austin, Tex., 9:24:02; Lisa Bentley, Canada, 9:25:18; Gina Kehr, Redwood City, Calif., 9:27:24; Kate Allen, Austria, 9:30:22; Kate Major, Australia, 9:31:53; Joanna Lawn, New Zealand, 9:32:48; Belinda Granger, Australia, 9:35:48; Melissa Ashton, Australia, 9:38:22; defending champion Natascha Badmann, Switzerland, 9:38:52.