Saturday, October 26: Live updates from the Hawaiian Ironman
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

6:58 a.m. (local time):
The sun is now rising over Mauna Loa to the east of Kailua-Kona. It's a beautiful day with temperatures near 70 degrees and clear skies.

7:00 a.m. (local time):
The starting cannon just sounded and the first of the competitors are in the water.

7:06 a.m. (local time):
One of the largest crowds ever has turned out to watch the swimming portion of the competition. Among the spectators are Verne and Dorothy Scott, parents of Dave Scott.

7:11 a.m. (local time):
Larry Little, of Port Townsend, Washington, in a display of his dedication to his wife, Heidi Hagelstein, who died tragically while training for the Ironman this year, was quoted as saying "she's right here," referring to her ashes. He is carrying them in the race, planning to release them in Kailua Bay.

7:23 a.m. (local time):
The first swimmers have now reached the turn.

7:37 a.m. (local time):
With the majority of the pros now on their way back to the pier on Kailua Bay, the swim leader appears to be Lars Jorgensen, who set an Ironman swim record last year.

7:48 a.m. (local time):
The leader of the men is now Wolfgang Dittrich, ahead of Jorgensen. Meanwhile, Karen Smyers has a lead of about 30 yards over Paula Newby-Fraser.

7:50 a.m. (local time):
Dittrich, who came out of the water at about 48 minutes, is now riding strongly toward Hawi. Ute Müeckel, the first woman, came out at 51:22.

Lars Jorgensen

8:00 a.m. (local time):
Women's swimming results: Müeckel was first at 51:22, followed by Newby-Fraser, then Wendy Ingraham.

8:11 a.m. (local time):
Dittrich of Germany has a five-minute lead on countryman Thomas Hellriegel. Smyers is leading the women.

8:30 a.m. (local time):
Weather conditions in Kona are the opposite of last year. Temperatures are expected to be in the 90s, with ground temperatures in the lava fields in the 100s. Scott and Newby-Fraser, who are well acclimated, are expected to benefit. Smyers, from New England, may not fare as well in the heat.

8:37 a.m. (local time):
The women's bicycling leaders are Müeckel, Ingraham, Smyers, and Newby-Fraser. The men's bicycling leaders are Dittrich, Luc Van Lierde, Greg Welch, and Tim DeBoom.

9:30 a.m. (local time):
Former pro football player Darryl Haley finished his swim 17 minutes earlier than last year. Jim Ward, 79, the oldest person to ever finish the race, made the swim cutoff. Ken Allen, the father of six-time winner Mark Allen, did not. Jim Howley, who has full-blown AIDS, is also out of the water.

Men's leaders: Dittrich is the leader with Hellriegel and Van Lierde 27 seconds back. Ken Glah and Peter Reid of Canada are fourth and fifth back, respectively. Scott was 5:00 back at mile 23.6.

The women's leaders are Smyers, Ingraham, Newby-Fraser, and Müeckel.

9:44 a.m. (local time):
Dittrich has a one-and-a-half-mile lead over Hellriegel. Van Lierde is in third and is closing in, with Welch close behind. Scott is about three minutes behind the pack.

9:58 a.m. (local time):
The story of the day so far appears to be the vast number of cycling penalties assessed. Many elite racers have been penalized, all of whom will have to wait three minutes at the end of the bike segment before beginning the marathon. An estimated 25 penalties have been assessed.

Men's leaders at mile 42.6: Hellriegel, Van Lierde, Dittrich, Reid, and Welch.

10:05 a.m. (local time):
The course will become more difficult as the riders near Hawi, the turnaround point for the bike. At mile 42.6, Hellriegel and Van Lierde are in the lead. Reid, Welch, DeBoom, Davidson, Glah, Cristian Bustos, Jürgen Zäck, Holger Lorenz, and Rainer Müller-Horner are in a pack pursuing them.

10:40 a.m. (local time):
Bulletin: Müller-Horner has just been disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. He got in a fistfight with Shane Smith, 26, of Lera, Australia, an amateur racer.

Sian Welch, wife of men's racer Greg Welch, has been disqualified for earning two drafting penalties.

Men's leader Hellriegel, who is 4:13 ahead of Dittrich at mile 60, was assessed a drafting penalty of three minutes, which he will have to serve in the transition zone after the bike ride.

Also assessed a three-minute penalty was seven-time champion Newby-Fraser.

In another pack, one minute behind the men's leaders are Welch, Cam Widoff, and Glah. Three minutes behind the pack is Scott at eight minutes down at about mile 60.

10:52 a.m. (local time):
Women's leaders at mile 52.6: Smyers, Ingraham, Newby-Fraser, Badmann, Müeckel. Smyers, in first, has a five-minute lead over Müeckel, in fifth.

10:55 a.m. (local time):
Men's leaders at mile 62.6: Van Lierde, Hellriegel, Dittrich, Welch, and Glah. Van Lierde, in first, has a seven-minute lead over Glah, fifth.

11:00 a.m. (local time):
Müller-Horner, who came in third last year, was disqualified after crashing with Smith. Müller-Horner reportedly hit Smith after the two cyclists crashed.

11:07 a.m. (local time):
In a grassy area close to the pier where the swimmers began, dozens of cots have been put out to accommodate Ironman competitors who require medical attention for dehydration and ailments. Although the cots are empty now, it is only a matter of time before this grueling test of physical endurance takes its toll.

11:15 a.m. (local time):
Fernanda Keller, who finished third the past two years, was disqualified for two blocking violations.

Athletes who have dropped out include Jorgensen, who was first out of the water today, and Jeff Devlin, who was third in '94, as well as Alison Coote, who was ninth last year.

11:25 a.m. (local time):
Van Lierde and Hellriegel are very close at the 95-mile mark. They are so close, in fact, they might be within the minimum distance of 10 meters. Their time is three and a half minutes ahead of the record, although Hellriegel still has a three-minute penalty. Together they have a four-and-a-half-minute lead over the pack, which includes Glah, Zäck, Welch, Bustos, Dittrich, Widoff, and DeBoom.

11:54 a.m. (local time):
The lead bikers are nearing the transition zone. Hellriegel is now building a little bit more of a lead over Van Lierde while Newby-Fraser pulls slightly ahead of Smyers. Ingraham, who is third, is looking very strong. Ingraham's coach said that she may have a 3:05 marathon, which would put her within a minute of the record.

12:08 p.m. (local time):
At mile 105, seven miles from the transition, Hellriegel and Van Lierde are leading. Zäck and Reid are trailing by 5:40, then Welch and Dittrich by 7:00, followed by Bustos, Glah, Widoff, and Chris McCormack.

12:20 p.m. (local time):
The leaders have made the transition to running.

12:35 p.m. (local time):
Official swim results for men:
Place | Name | Age | Country/State | Time
1. Jorgensen, Lars, 26, Tennessee, 48:37
2. Dittrich, Wolfgang, 34, Germany, 48:45
3. Davidson, Mike, 33, Florida, 50:21
4. Perini, Victor, 28, Tennessee, 50:38
5. Umphenour, Joe, 27, Washington, 50:39
6. Bonney, James, 24, Texas, 50:44
7. Imonen, Brent, 27, Hawaii, 51:20
8. Fix, David, 29, Illinois, 51:22
9. Welch, Greg, 31, Australia, 51:23
10. DeBoom, Tim, 25, Iowa, 51:24

12:45 p.m. (local time):
Official swim results (initial) for women:
Place | Name | Age | Country/State | Time
1. Müeckel, Ute, 29, Germany, 51:27
2. Ingraham, Wendy, 32, California, 51:30
3. Graf-Weshoff, Sabine, 26, Germany, 53:21
4. Zeier, Joanna, 26, Maryland, 53:27
5. Nievergelt, Juliana, 36, Massachusetts, 54:09
6. Smyers, Karen, 35, Massachusetts, 54:11
7. Welch, Sian, 30, California, 54:16
8. Newby-Fraser, Paula, 34, California, 55:30
9. Schnardoff, Susana, 29, Brazil, 55:42
10. Johnson, Peggy, 24, Florida, 55:43

12:55 p.m. (local time):
Newby-Fraser is now serving a three-minute penalty at the transition zone. Although she was in the lead going into the transition, the number-one spot now belongs to Natasha Badmann, a first-time Hawaiian Ironman competitor from Switzerland.

1:05 p.m. (local time):
Latest in the women's race: Badmann, Newby-Fraser, Smyers, Ingraham.

1:09 p.m. (local time):
The road is heating up. The temperature is 88 and the sun is intense.

1:20 p.m. (local time):
Scott is off his bike and running. He is 22 minutes behind leader Hellriegel.

1:24 p.m. (local time):
At the end of the bike transition the order is: Hellriegel, Van Lierde, Reid, Zäck, Welch, Bustos, Dittrich, Glah, McCormick, Lorenz, Widoff, and DeBoom.

1:35 p.m. (local time):
The men's update at mile eight of the marathon has Hellriegel leading, followed by Van Lierde at 4:00, Reid at 7:40, Welch at 8:40, Zäck at 12:50, and McCormack at 13:38.

1:59 p.m. (local time):
Second-tier men's: Glah is 16:00 back, followed by Widoff at 18:00. Bustos, who is not fully recovered from serious injuries sustained while training in Chile, is at 19:00.

Scott is in 13th place, but has picked up eight places and will likely reach the top 10.

Correction from 10:40 a.m.: Hellriegel was not penalized, but Van Lierde and Widoff were penalized three minutes while bicycling. Van Lierde appeared to be refreshed after his three minutes, and has been gaining ground since then.

2:00 p.m. (local time):
Newby-Fraser has pulled into the lead ahead of Badmann, who is back by 40 seconds. Smyers is third, at 4:00 back.

2:06 p.m. (local time):
Hellriegel is leading into the Natural Energy Laboratory area north of Kailua-Kona, leaving him with about 13 miles to go.

2:10 p.m. (local time):
Smith of Australia was disqualified because of what he described as a confrontation started by Müller-Horner in which Smith threw a punch that didn't connect.

2:25 p.m. (local time):
The crowds are again on the streets of Kailua-Kona to watch the first of the returning triathletes.

Hellriegel posted an unofficial time of 4:24:50 on the bike portion. He looks strong in the run and is very close to beating Allen's record total time.

Van Lierde also is strong, trailing by two minutes with about six miles to go to the finish.

2:35 p.m. (local time):
Newby-Fraser, who had for a while regained the lead, was just passed by Badmann. As Badmann passed, Newby-Fraser gave her a thumbs-up and both women seemed to be unstressed and were smiling.

2:52 p.m. (local time):
With less than three miles to go, Van Liedre has taken the lead from Hellriegel.

2:56 p.m. (local time):
Ironman rookie Van Liedre has passed Hellriegel at the same point where Dave Scott came into the lead to take his first Ironman in 1980, which was, incidentally, the last year a rookie won the Hawaiian Ironman.

3:00 p.m. (local Time):
Van Lierde is running down Alii Drive, throwing his hands in the air with joy, speeding toward the finish line.

3:04 p.m. (local Time):
Luc Van Lierde has won Ironman 1996!

3:07 p.m. (local time):
Van Liedre has broken the record by three and a half minutes. Hellriegel was second. Welch has not made it across the line yet, but may come in third.

3:11 p.m. (local time):
Van Lierde's unofficial time was 8:04:11. No time is yet available for Hellriegel, but it appears that he, too has beaten Allen's record.

Van Lierde, who had two years of bad luck with knee problems and a bike-truck accident in Belgium, threw the ribbon up in excitement. As Hellriegel neared the finish, he carried the German flag and had a somber demeanor.

3:20 p.m. (local time):
Unofficial men's final times:
1) Luc Van Lierde, 27, of Belgium, 8:04:11
2) Thomas Hellriegel, 25, of Germany, 8:06:07
3) Greg Welch, 31, representing Australia, 8:18:57

3:30 p.m. (local time):
Newby-Fraser and Badmann are shoulder-to shoulder less than three miles from the finish. Their demeanor is noticeably less congenial than before.

3:42 p.m. (local time):
Müller-Horner now says he was not disqualified for fighting. There is some confusion about why he left the race.

3:45 p.m. (local time):
Newby-Fraser has pulled away for the women's lead. Badmann, the Ironman newcomer, has slowed down to take more liquids and pour water and ice over her head.

3:55 p.m. (local time):
Scott showed an impressive rebound, climbing from 21st to finish fifth.

4:06 p.m. (local time):
Newby-Fraser has won her eighth Ironman title. She crossed the finish line after nine hours and six minutes.

4:10 p.m. (local time):
Badmann is the second woman across the line.

4:20 p.m. (local time):
Unofficial men's results:
Place | Name | State/Country | Time
1. Van Lierde, Luc, Belgium, 8:04:08
2. Hellriegel, Thomas, Germany, 8:06:07
3. Welch, Greg, Australia, 8:18:57
4. Reid, Peter, California
5. Scott, Dave, California
6. Taubert, Alexander, Colorado
7. Kropko, Peter, Hungary
8. Moureau, Jean, Belgium
9. Van Der Marel, Jan, Netherlands
10. Klumpp, Matthias, Germany

4:50 p.m. (local time):
With the most suspenseful part of the triathlon over, Kailua has settled into a party atmosphere. The sun will be setting soon and the conditions are good for running, with slightly overcast conditions and cooling temperatures. Many of the competitors will still be running well after sunset. Some may not make the midnight cutoff, but all have shown a great effort.

5:05 p.m. (local time):
Unofficial women's results:
1. Newby-Fraser, Paula, California, 9:06:49
2. Badmann, Natasha, Switzerland, 9:11:19
3. Smyers, Karen, Massachusetts, 9:19:13
4. Ingraham, Wendy, Massachusetts, 9:22:12
5. Müeckel, Ute, Germany, 9:26:42

5:17 p.m. (local time):
Van Lierde, the 1996 Hawaii Ironman champion, is a 27-year-old Belgian from the city of Rainer who each week swims six hours, bikes 15 hours, and runs six hours. Van Lierde is married and says his only hobby is his family.