Post your congratulations to Austin's James Bonney on his outstanding race at the Ironman New Zealand to the RTN Message Board

Austin resident James Bonney scored a fifth-place finish at the Ironman New Zealand on March 2. His final time of eight hours, 43 minutes, and 49 seconds also placed him as the top overall American in the 2.4ms / 112mb / 26.2mr event.

Bonney used his traditional strong swim to place himself at or near the lead for most of the swim and bike. At the conclusion of the first two disciplines, he had over a minute on the field. His 3:03 marathon split wasn't enough to hold off speedy runners like Cameron Brown, who claimed the overall title in 8:32:53.

On the women's side, New Zealand's Karyn Ballance was the top finisher in 9:27:33, while American Wendy Ingraham was the lone U.S. finisher in the top ten with her fourth place finish (9:49:21).

For more information on Ironman New Zealand, check out the official Web site www.ironman.co.nz