The island of Cozumel was the proud host of an exciting international event this past weekend. The Ironman Triathlon came to town and thrilled the crowds of thousands with an incredible display of strength and endurance. The race started early Sunday morning at the home of Dolphin Discovery, Chankanaab Park with the 2.4 mile/3.8 km swimming event. The swimmers put up faster than usual times in the water with most participants finishing in under fifty minutes. The race continued with the 112 mile/180 km bike ride around the island which was followed by the running portion, a full marathon of 26.2 miles/42.2 km. The weather was friendly to the participants, a relatively cool and overcast day which prevented much of the heat exhaustion or sunburns that might have come with the usual sunshine and heat of Cozumel. The crowds along the street were encouraging and supportive, the local Cozumeleños were thrilled to cheer and applaud everyone passing by. People from around the world gathered in Cozumel, waving their national flags to support their local heroes and cheering them on throughout the grueling race.
Ironman Cozumel 2009 Champions Rutger Beke and Yvonne van Vlerken
The winner of the men’s event was Rutger Beke from Belgium, putting in an impressive time of 8:18:40. He donned a sombrero as he smiled and waved at the crowd, mariachis playing a celebratory tune for his exceptional performance. Yvonne van Vlerken from the Netherlands was the women’s champion with a time of 9:06:58, not only leading the pack of women but coming in 10th overall with only 9 men finishing with faster times.
Ironman Cozumel 2009 Men’s Champion Rutger Beke
Dolphin Discovery salutes and congratulates all 1900 competitors in this phenomenal event and we look forward to seeing everyone next year for another great Ironman Cozumel Triathlon. For more photos of this great race, please see our Ironman Cozumel 2009 Flickr set. Felicidades a todos!