Courtesy: Katalyst Multisport Management

Chris Lieto, second overall finisher at the HSBC Ironman USA Championship, can now add U.S. Champion to his growing list of accolades. Lieto finished the grueling day in 8:53:24, just 7 minutes behind eventual winner Kirill Litovtsenko of Estonia. Lieto was crowned U.S. Men's Champion while Gina Kehr or Redwood City, CA took home the women's title.

On a day that saw fierce head winds on the bike and torrential down pours on the run, Chris Lieto set the frantic pace early on by leading all other athletes out of the 2.4 mile swim by posting the days fastest swim split of 48:54. Once out on the bike, Lieto pulled away from the rest of the pack and continued to build his lead. "The headwinds were some of the worst I have ever seen. At times I was only managing 9 to 10 mph and that was on relatively flat terrain". Lieto endured the windy 112 mile ride by posting the days fastest bike split of 4:50:51.

Heading out on run, Lieto had a commanding lead on the rest of the pro men's field that consisted of Litovtsenko, Chris Legh, Jason Shortis and defending Ironman USA Lake Placid Champion Ryan Bolton. The heaviest rains of the day began as the pro men headed out for the run, which only added another degree of misery to an already difficult day. Once on the run Lieto's good fortunes took a turn for the worse. He had formed half- dollar sized blisters on each foot that only grew worse as the weather worsened. "At times on the run, I was in ankle-deep water, said Lieto. At approximately mile 14 of the 26.2 mile run, the blisters opened up and each step became a struggle. "The pain was almost too much to bear. At one point I looked down at my shoes and they were soaked in blood. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to continue the run. Somehow, Lieto was able to continue on the run but at a pace that would eventually allow Litovtsenko to take the lead. Lieto found his run again but was unable to reel in Litovtsenko who posted the fastest marathon time of the day.

Despite his troubles on the run, Lieto was ecstatic about his second place finish. "I'm just glad I finished. That was the windiest bike ride I can remember. It seemed like it would last forever. It was crazy. I'm extremely happy, considering my feet and everything. I'm ecstatic for sure". Lieto plans on resting for the next week before turning his attention to the Hawaii Ironman Championship in mid October.

Chris Lieto is the current Ironman Wisconsin Champion and has also captured victories at the 2002 Vineman half Ironman triathlon and the 2003 San Jose International triathlon. Chris and Karis Lieto, who reside in Danville, CA, are expecting their first child in September.