Wow, wow, wow. After 12 months of epic long distance racing it has all come down to this and emerging at the front of the pack to claim a stunning world 2014 title in Kona, Hawaii.

In the case of Kienle, he executed a huge bike leg that won him the race and his first Ironman world title. Carfrae defended her title and now has 3 big trophies on her cabinet.

British interest was peaked by Rachel Joyce continuing her amazingly consistent track record in Kona with a 3rd place on the podium, whilst through the field other Brits racing included Dan Halksworth, Paul Ambrose, Harry Wiltshire, Jodie Swallow, Liz Blatchford, Lucy Gossage and Corinne Abraham. Check out the provisional results here.

The action kicked off at 6.25am local time with the male pros starting on their own for the first time in the races history. What wasn’t a new sight was that of uber swimmer Andy Potts coming out with a lead - however the lead was minimal this year. A large pack of athletes - 24 in total - came out within a minute later and a busy pack of pros left transition to hit the infamous Kona bike course. In that pack early on and showing his swim prowess was Dan Halksworth.

The bike leg was somewhat eventful - with an early break by the Kona-rookie Jan Frodeno scuppered by a puncture and then the pace set by some of the uber-bikers on the Ironman circuit, Andrew Starykowicz for one, striking out but really noone could make a decisive break early on and the strong winds seemed to be having an effect on the will of the athletes to really put the power down. In these circumstances however, Kienle started to excel and it was he that made what would turn out to be the big move and come into transition with a 3:15 gap on the chasing pack that counted Twelsiek, Hoffman, Vanhoenaker and others that would fancy their chances on the chase.

How would Kienle react to this pressure? Like a champ. The two-time 70.3 world champion showed a strong 2:54:37 marathon which didn’t allow much room for his pursuers to make any significant gains and presented the German with an Ironman World Title. Behind him, Hoffman was showing his consistency and strength and claimed 2nd, whilst Jan Frodeno on his Kona debut had a late surge that was good enough for 3rd. Harry Wiltshire was the first British athlete over the line and came home in 32nd place. Dan Halksworth posted a DNF and tweeted:

Sorry guys everything was going well until the run. Couldn’t keep my nutrition down and just got worse and worse. Wobbled off the road.

1) Sebastian Kienle 8:14:18
2) Ben Hoffman 8:19:23
3) Jan Frodeno 8:20:32
4) Andy Potts 8:21:38
5) Cyril Viennot 8:22:19
6) Nils Frommhold 8:22:29
7) Tim Van Berkel 8:23:26
8) Frederik Van Lierde 8:24:11
9) Bart Aernouts 8:28:28
10) Romain Guillaume 8:30:15
32) Harry Wiltshire 9:00:00
35) Paul Ambrose 9:02:58
DNF) Dan Halksworth

The women’s race kicked off at 6:30am local time and British interest was immediately held by Jodie Swallow who had a water duel with Amanda Stevens. Swallow only knows one way to race… hard and from the front, and so she stayed true to her tactics in Kona 2014. This pair were joined by Meredith Kessler and the three would emerge in the lead and out onto the bike first.

Behind them came some of the strong contenders for the overall title, including Rachel Joyce who was looking to turn her remarkable consistency in this race into the title which has proved tantalisingly elusive over the last 5 years. The lead trio were chased by a pack of strong looking athletes that included Liz Blatchford and Caroline Steffen whilst Carfrae had some work to do needing to make up a 6-minute deficit.

Disaster would strike for Swallow and she received a 4-minute penalty which all but ruled her out of contention from here on in for the big one, whilst the conditions would start to exert their influence on the race, demanding that the women’s field had to work extra hard. Daniella Ryf worked her way to the front, whilst Rachel Joyce moved into 2nd whilst Mary Beth Ellis held 3rd. Jodie Swallow was currently in 4th coming into T2 whilst all would have been aware that the uber-runner Carfrae was not far off behind them.

And so it would be, Carfrae did execute another stunning Kona marathon and would win her 3rd Ironman World Championships. The recipe for defeating her is an elusive one, and she is a deserving champion.

Rachel Joyce was 3rd whilst Jodie Swallow would finish 4th in what would be superb performances from the British pair. Liz Blatchford finished 10th and Corinne Abraham not far behind whilst Lucy Gossage struggled on the back end of the run, walking across the line over 2 hours off the pace. She will be back.

1. Mirinda Carfrae 9:00:55
2. Daniela Ryf 9:02:57
3. Rachel Joyce 9:04:23
4. Jodie Swallow 9:10:19
5. Caroline Steffen 9:12:43
6. Julia Gajer 9:16:58
7. Liz Lyles 9:18:11
8. Gina Crawford 9:19:21
9. Mary Beth Ellis 9:20:46
10. Liz Blatchford 9:23:34