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Hawaii Ironman Triathlon > Big Island Ironman

Ford Ironman Championship Kona, Hawaii Big Island

Hawaii Ironman Triathlon Kailua Kona 2006 - 'Earthquake' Ironman
Watch 2006 Ironman Kona videos Full Day's action through Ironman Live videos
Visit Hawaii 2007 Hawaii Ironman in Kona

The next Hawaii Ironman Triathlon Ford World Championship takes place in Kailua Kona October 11, 2008.

2007 Hawaii Ironman in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Big Island

As usual Kohala Coast Vacation Guide gives our site visitors a short glimpse of the 2007 Hawaii Ironman World Championship in Kona. Before the race, there was much talk in the media about an anticipated battle between Chris McCormack and his German rivals Normann Stadler and Faris Al-Sultan. The same applies to predictions of the race between defending champion Michellie Jones and six-time winner Natascha Badmann. 2007 Ironman talk was alsoabout the emergence a number of Kona “rookies,” including the 2006 Ford Ironman 70.3 World Champions Samantha McGlone and Craig Alexander, not to mention Britain’s latest Ironman phenom, Chrissie Wellington.

With almost ideal weather conditions for the 2007 Kona Ironman Triathlon, it came as a big surprise when many of the professional athletes dropped out of 2007 Hawaii Ironman during the race, including the above mentioned two-time World Champion, Normann Stadler and 2005 World Champion, Faris Al-Sultan and on the women side, six-time World Champion Natascha Badmann and last year's female winner Michellie Jones. This opened up the field for rookies like Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington.

Each year, the Hawaii Ironman is not only defined by the top athletes, the winners of the race but by those who went through a life ordeal of challenges to participate in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Stories like those of Charles Plaskon, a 64-year-old visually impaired athlete who participated with his guide, crossed the line in 14 hours, 49 seconds, or Scott Rigsby, a double below-the-knee amputee athlete from Atlanta who celebrated his finish in 16 hours and 42 minutes. The most amazing Ironman story was 'delivered' by Brian Boyle, survivor of a nearly fatal car accident where he was told he would never walk again. He crossed the finish line at 14 hours, 42 seconds. These are Ironman stories of survival and beating the odds with dedication, motivation and persistance! Real Ironmen indeed!

To make it to the starting line in Kona, athletes have to win a qualifying spot at one of the qualifying events held around the world or be very lucky and get a spot through the lottery. Tens-of-thousands of triathletes try each year. Only 1,700 succeeded in 2007. The race for the 2008 Hawaii Triathlob spots has already begun. Ford Worldchampionship Ironman Kona 2008 has the first women qualifiers from races in Ironman Monaco and Ford Ironman Wisconsin. The next Ford Worldchampionship Hawaii Ironman is coming up on 10/11/2008 in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island.

The next Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship takes place in Kailua Kona October 13, 2007.

Contact us early for your visit for the 2007 Hawaii Ironman in Kona, whether you are just visiting or partcipating. Vacation rental owners in Kona are happy to accommodate you. Kona hotels and Kona vacation condos and rentals book fast for the week of the Ironman. Make your Kona rental reservation now.

Read more on the 2006 Hawaii Ironman, Triathlon World Championship in Kailua Kona October 21, the Race with the earthquake!

This 2006 Hawaii Ironman will be for ever in the memory of Big Island visitors and Ironman athletes alike as the 'race with the earthquake'. After a 6.9 earthquake had hit the the West coast of the Big Island on Sunday morning 10/15/06 at 7am, just one week before Ironman and left Big Island visitors, athletes and residents shaking, trembling and wondering whether there would be an Ironman this year, it was soon clear that the island and its people had gotten away with a big scare but minor injuries and building damage. Read more on earth quake.

In the days before the earthquake hit, Kona was unusually hot and humid, and in the days after, the area got slammed with a series of torrential downpours of uncharacteristic intensity and duration. On the day of the Ironman, skies were overcast and no heavy winds troubled the athletes on their bike ride from Kona to Hawi and back. It seemed that Pele had made peace with the athletes. It was all going so well, right up until 7:20 pm, over twelve hours into the race when a torrential downpur happened in Alii Dr, the home stretch of the Ironman World Championship. Athletes had to make it through knee deep high water to make it to the finish line. About one hour later the downpour stopped and the water receded allowing athletes to cross the finish line under more regular conditions, some after they ran for 10 and more miles in dripping wet shoes and clothes and others, the luckier ones, totally dry. Read more about the 2006 Ironman Championship in Hawaii on the Ironman official site.

Here are the winners of this year's FORD HAWAII IRONMAN TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Big Island, Saturday October 21, 2006:

As usual, also this year Kona vacation rentals & Kona hotels were booked out far ahead for the week of the Hawaii Big Island Ironman Triathlon. Contact us early for your special rate for the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. Kohala Coast Vacation Guide is happy to help you find nice, affordable Kona vacation rentals and vacation condos for your stay during the Big Island Ironman Triathlon, whether your are a participant or a visitor.

Here are the winners of last year's FORD HAWAII IRONMAN TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Big Island, Saturday October 15th, 2005:

Find complete results of 2005 Ford Ironman Championship in Kona here. Here are some quotes from the offical Ironman website about this year's Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua Kona, Big Island of Hawaii:

"At this year's Ford Ironman World Championship, we were witness to more than 16 record setting times:

A Championship like no other … Madame Pele must have been in a good mood here in Kona today. Instead of pounding the best endurance athletes in the world with brutal winds and scorching heat, she left out the winds and went a bit easier on the heat. And the best endurance athletes in the world took note, and put on quite a show. In today’s Ford Ironman World Championship, we were witness to more than 16 record setting times. We saw 45-year-olds finish a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a marathon run in 9:11. We saw Sister Madonna Buder become the oldest woman to ever finish an Ironman. She’s just 76-years-young! She managed that feat in an impressive 15:54:16. We saw Robert McKeague become the first 80-year-old to finish an Ironman. He did that in just over 16 hours! We saw Sarah Reinertsen get that unfinished business finished. We saw Johnny Blais become the only athlete with ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease) to finish an Ironman." We saw …read more on facts and news from the official site of Ironman racing series, including the Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.

2004 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon winners!!!

History of Hawaii Ironman Triathlon

Every October, on the Saturday closest to the full moon, about 1,500 of the world's fittest people tackle one of the toughest endurance events, the Hawaii Ironman triathlon. The Ironman is a day-long event. It starts with a four-kilometre swim, followed by a 180-kilometre bike race, topped off with a 42-kilometre marathon run. Although anyone can enter most Ironman races, competitors at Hawaii Ironman Triathlon world championship have qualified at another event or won a lottery slot.

Surviving the hot, windy and desolate lava fields in Hawaii's Kona region is as much an extreme mental test as a physical one. Triathlon’s roots can be traced back to 1974, Mission Bay, Southern California where a group of friends began training together. Amongst them were runners, swimmers and cyclists and before long training sessions turned into informal races. Directed and conceived by Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan the first Mission Bay Triathlon was held on September 25th 1974 and welcomed 46 athletes. Triathlon’s foundations had been set!

In Hawaii, 1978, an argument arose regarding which of the three disciplines required the greatest endurance. At that time Hawaii hosted The Waikiki Rough Water Swim (2.4 miles), The Oahu Bike Race (112 miles) and The Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles). Originally events in themselves, they were rolled into one to become the ‘Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.’

The event attracted 15 athletes and of them only 12 crossed the finish line. By 1982 the Hawaii Ironman gained extensive coverage on ABC World Wide Sport and participation levels had increased to 580 competitors. Last year over 3000 athletes completed the grueling challenge. The fastest women finish the course in just under nine hours and the fastest men finishing in little over 8 hours.

WHAT:
A 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to finish. Cutoff times are also applied to the swim (2:20 after start of race) and the bike (10:30 after the start of race.)
WHERE:
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The swim segment begins and ends at the pier in Kailua. The bike race travels north on the Kona Coast to the small village of Hawi, and then returns along the same route to the new transition area at the King Kamahamaha Hotel. The marathon course travels through Kailua and onto the same highway used for the bike race. Contestants run back into Kailua-Kona, coming down Alii Drive to the cheers of more than 25,000 people at the finish line.
WHO:
Up to 2,000 competitors, ages 18-80, compete from 50-plus countries and all 50 states. Upwards of 50,000 competitors attempt to qualify at Ironman qualifying races worldwide. Another 4,000 enter the race lottery, which awards 150 slots to U.S. citizens and 50 slots to international athletes. In recognition of their athletic accomplishment, age group champions automatically qualified for the next year's race. Read more http://vnews.ironmanlive.com/vnews/985623550

Recommendations for Kohala Coast visitors to watch the Ironman

We recommend to our Big Island visitors on the Kohala Coast who’d like to experience this ultimate endurance test 'live' to either leave their Kohala Coast vacation rental early in the morning around 5am in order to find a parking lot in Kailua-Kona and a good position in Alii Drive for watching the most spectacular scene when thousands of participants jump in the Pacific Ocean at 7am sharp for their 2.4mile swim…or if they are not early birds but still would like to get a glimpse of the participants and feel the heat of the competition (and Hawaii!), drive their car to the junction of Hwy 19 and Hwy 270 to cheer the triathlon bikers on their way to Hawi. The Hawaii Triathlon World Championship on the Big Island of Hawaii is a once in a life time experience you don’t want to miss.

2006 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon Kailua Kona photos

2006 Hawaii Ironman in Kailua Kona	New Zealand athletes at Kona Ironman

Here are a few photos from the 2004 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon event:

Ironman Triathlon athletes	Ironman Triathlon visitors
Ironman athletes swimming	Ironman at bike start
Ironman marathon	Ironman triathlon swimmers at start

Click a category of our Kohala Coast vacation guide for more information & photos.