Courtesy: USAT

U.S. pro triathlete Tim DeBoom (Lyons, Colo.) overcame freakish weather conditions and a challenge from Canadian Peter Reid to win the Ironman World Championship for the second straight year, on Saturday in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

DeBoom, 31, completed the 2.5-mile swim, 114-mile bike and 26.2- mile run in 8 hours, 29 minutes, 56 seconds. The finish was faster than his 2001 winning time of 8:31:18.

Reid, who challenged DeBoom on the run, finished second in 8:33:06 and Cameron Brown of New Zealand was third in 8:35:34.

Ironman veteran Cameron Widoff (Boulder, Colo.) was the next highest finishing U.S. male in ninth (8:45:53).

Natascha Badmann of Switzerland, the 2001 women's Ironman winner, also repeated as the world champion, completing the race in 9:07:54. Nina Kraft of Germany was second (9:14:24) and Lori Bowden of Canada was third (9:22:27).

Pouring rain early in the morning Saturday led to large ocean swells for the swim. Later, temperatures heated up into the 80s.

Complete details and results will be posted at www.ironmanlive.com.