Wellington Slashes Own World Ironman Record

Video of new interview with Chrissie Wellington! Huntington Beach, CA – July 20, 2010 – Her characteristic smile fixed firmly in place, reigning three-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion Chrissie Wellington shattered her own prior world record at Sunday’s Challenge Roth. Her time of 8:19:13 gapped her nearest competitor by more than 32 minutes and secured a 7^th place overall finish among the women and men combined. Wellington’s time splits in each discipline - 50:28 in the swim, 4:36:33 on the bike and 2:48:54 on the marathon run – each showed improvement over her 2009 Challenge Roth race, where she initially broke the world record in a time of 8:31:59. Sunday’s 12:46 improvement marks an unprecedented breakthrough in women’s Ironman distance racing. Wellington is widely known for her landmark achievements. A relative newcomer to the sport, she raced her first triathlon in 2004. Hooked on the experience from the outset, it wasn’t long before Wellington rose in the ranks from unknown to World Champion, claiming her first coveted Ironman Hawaii World Championship title in 2007. Since her performance at the 2007 race, said to be “the biggest upset in Ironman Hawaii history”, Wellington remains undefeated in the Ironman distance. In Sunday’s Roth race, Wellington displayed TYR pride from start to finish. She was easily recognizable during the swim, clad in a vividly lettered black and red Hurricane wetsuit. Her vibrant red custom race kit, based on TYR’s 2011 collection designs, gave fans a sneak preview of the innovative new products that will launch at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer trade show and become available to the public beginning in Spring 2011. Following Challenge Roth, Wellington has her sights set on besting another of her 2009 record-breaking accomplishments – setting a new fastest time at the sport’s pinnacle event, the 2010 Ironman Hawaii World Championship in October. For 17 years the women’s course record held fast at 8:55:28, set by Paula Newby-Fraser in 1992, until Wellington turned in a time of 8:54:02 on her way to a third consecutive World Championship title. In other race news: Back on U.S. soil, TYR’s Mirinda Carfrae set a new women’s course record at the notoriously hot and hilly Ironman 70.3 Vineman. Warm water conditions dictated a non-wetsuit swim; thus Carfrae chose to race in her Sayonara swimskin. In signature Carfrae style, the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Champion came off the bike behind a handful of her rivals, only to rapidly erase the time deficit with her unparalleled running form. Her arrival in the finish chute, more than six minutes ahead of the second place female, clocked in at 4:15:51. Like Wellington, Carfrae now turns her focus to October’s Ironman World Championship, where she finished second in her 2009 Ironman debut. Across the country at the Nautica NYC Triathlon, TYR-sponsored twins Rebeccah and Laurel Wassner applied a one-two punch to the women’s field, with Rebeccah successfully defending her 2009 title at this acclaimed Olympic distance event. Video of new interview with Chrissie Wellington!