Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010 (Louisville, Ky.) -- Great Britain's Paul Ambrose celebrated his first Ironman win, while Australia's Rebekah Keat captured her second, at today's fourth-annual Ford Ironman Louisville Triathlon. Ambrose, who has seen podium finishes at Ironman 70.3 Cancun and Ironman 70.3 California, took the title more than 11 minutes ahead of the second male, Martin Jensen (DNK). His winning time was 8:29:59. Keat, the 2007 Ironman Australia winner, crossed the finish line with more than an 11-minute lead over second-place finisher, Kim Loeffler (USA). Keat's official time was 9:33:15.
Exiting the water in third, Ambrose was more than three minutes behind John Flanagan and among Ironman Champions Jason Shortis (AUS) and Max Longree (GER), who won the event in 2008. Ambrose took the lead early in the bike and maintained it throughout the rest of the race, posting the fastest bike split of the day (4:31:36) and claiming his first title.
Top five professional men's results are below:
1. Paul Ambrose, GBR, 8:29:59
2. Martin Jensen, DNK, 8:41:54
3. Max Longree, GER, 8:50:10
4. Patrick Evoe, USA, 8:53:14
5. Sergio Marques, PRT, 9:05:04
Keat exited the water in fifth place behind defending champion, Nina Kraft (GER), Maki Nishiuchi (JPN) and Americans Hillary Biscay and Bree Wee. In a similar fashion to Ambrose, Keat pulled ahead in the early portion of the bike, posted the day's fastest bike split (5:08:26) and won with a substantial lead on the second-place finisher.
Top five professional women's results are below:
1. Rebekah Keat, AUS, 9:33:15
2. Kim Loeffler, USA, 9:44:23
3. Bree Wee, USA, 9:50:35
4. Lisbeth Kristensen, DNK, 10:12:06
5. Kelzie Beebe, USA, 10:43:02
Today's event saw more than 2,500 starters ranging in age from 18 to 79 years old. Nearly 200 local Kentucky residents participated in this race that serves as an official qualifier for the Ford Ironman World Championship taking place on Oct. 9, 2010, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
One of more than 25 events in the Ironman global series, Ford Ironman Louisville takes athletes along a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run on a course that utilizes a variety of Louisville's scenic areas, including Waterfront Park, Oldham and Henry Counties and the city of La Grange. The finish line, located at Fourth Street Live!, officially closes at midnight.
For more information on Ford Ironman Louisville and race results, visit www.ironmanlouisville.com.
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