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    Sebastian Kienle, Mirinda Carfrae Win Ironman World Championship in Kona

    Sebastian Kienle took first for the men, while Mirinda Carfrae took first for the women.

    German Sebastian Kienle took first place for the men while Australian Mirinda Carfrae took first for the women in the Ironman World Championships held in Kona, Hawaii on Saturday. Kienle completed the race with a time of 8:14:18, while Carfrae finished in 9:00:55 and came in 33rd overall.

    Kienle, 31, finished the race more than five minutes ahead of the second-place winner, American Ben Hoffman. The two were neck and neck for the majority of the competition, with Hoffman taking the lead following the swim portion of the event. However, Kienle was able to push ahead during the bike portion and maintain his lead throughout the run as well. Germany’s Jan Frodeno took third for the men.

    “I told everyone before the race that my goal was to win,” Kienle said at the post-race press conference, Ironman.com reported. “I think if you can’t say that you want to win this race you won’t be able to do it, because then you don’t have the confidence. I think I talked myself into it this year.”

    In her first time competing in the World Championship in Kona, Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf took second, with Britain’s Rachel Joyce (last year’s second place winner) taking third.

    “I have no idea how I got that done. Defending is harder than anything,” said first-place winner, Carfrae. “Those girls are tough and I knew it would be a battle to the finish line. I’m a bit shocked I got it done.”

    Check out the full results here.

    Image courtesy of KrughPhoto/iStock