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Britain's Leanda Cave wins Ironman World Championship
Britain's Leanda Cave pulled away in the last three miles of the run to win the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.
The 34-year-old finished the gruelling 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run in nine hours, 15 minutes and 54 seconds.
She was just over a minute clear of Switzerland's Caroline Steffen.
It was Cave's second world title of the year after victory in the Half Ironman World Championship last month.
Leanda Cave
- Born: 9 March 1978 in Louth, Lincolnshire
- Won triathlon silver for Wales at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
- 2002 World Triathlon champion
- Finished third in the 2011 Ironman World Championship
- Won her first Ironman event at the Ford Ironman Arizona in November 2011.
"I'm kind of speechless," said Cave, who finished third behind fellow Briton Chrissie Wellington and Australian Mirinda Carfrae in 2011.
"I just hope they don't come out with another distance. I'm getting too old for this."
Britain's Rachel Joyce finished 11th in 9:40:16, while double Olympic medallist Rebecca Romero, who took up Ironman after retiring from cycling, came home in 11:39:08.
Cave was always in contention at the front of the field, exiting the swim in fourth and the bike in third, then pulling clear of Australian rival Carfrae on the run before overhauling Steffen.
Australia's Pete Jacobs won the men's event, beating Germany's Andreas Raelert by more than four minutes.
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Comment number 32.
gazzab16th October 2012 - 18:25
Also a shame that the Western Mail in Cardiff thought that Leanda's achievement was not good enough to warrant even a mention in their paper this week. Don't suppose it was up there with Bangor 1 Llanelli 2 in the Welsh Premier football league or Gareth Bale scores two goals to give Wales a win at last against a hapless Scotland.
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Comment number 31.
welshtim16th October 2012 - 14:17
Wonder why she choose Wales Read your history books sunny you may learn about all of our roots and o no their Welsh There is more Welsh blood in England than Roman,Saxon,Norman or any other visitors to our disputed land so Wynj be proud of your Welsh roots we all have them
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Comment number 30.
Wynj16th October 2012 - 12:53
Hate to be a part pooper, but she competes on behalf of Wales, since her mother's Welsh !
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Comment number 29.
siquando15th October 2012 - 13:56
wowzers trousers! how can anybody do all that stuff in a day let alone 9 or so hours, super fit, well done girl! i also agree that any world champ deserves more coverage than Lampard or Bertrand, its not as if the whole squad isn't playing is it and what have england achieved in the last 50 years anyway? zero!
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Comment number 28.
James Williams15th October 2012 - 13:13
24. There is more interest than you think. Particpation levels in triathlon are huge in this country and whilst I accept it may never hit the viewing figures of football/tennis this was after all a world championship, unlike the stories to which the others related.
Still no coverage on BBC Radio or TV over the weekend though. Not good enough from a public service broadcaster I'm afraid.
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Comments 5 of 32