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German men and woman dominate Hawaiian Ironman

Normann Stadler of Germany seized the lead in the bike ride and held on in the marathon for a 10-minute margin of victory Saturday at the Ironman Triathlon World Championship.

Stadler, a 33-year-old professional triathlete, won the grueling race in 8 hours, 33 minutes, 29 seconds.

He took the lead at about the 48.3km mark of the 180.2km bicycle ride, passing countryman Jan Sibbersen, a 29-year-old former Olympic swimmer who led after the 3.9km ocean swim.

Stadler took command of the race and was never challenged. Last year, he led after the bicycle ride but faded in the run and finished fourth.

"I was told before the race that a cyclist can't win in Hawaii, but I won," said Stadler, who joins 1997 champion Thomas Hellreigel as the only Germans to win the event.

Fellow German Nina Kraft won the woman's race with a time of 9:33:35. She was the third woman out of the water, but quickly moved into the lead in the bike ride.

In the men's competition, defending champion and three-time winner Peter Reid of Victoria, Canada, was 13th after the bike ride and used a strong performance in the marathon to finish second in 8:43:40.

Faris Al-Sultan, a student and professional triathlete also from Germany, was third in 8:45:14.
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