2016 IRONMAN™ World Championship Photo Essay

KOA has some grass and palm trees. All planted, the rest is black lava.

Tuesday night’s Parade of Nations with a view of the finish line.

The Expo, where the rich and famous congregate. Can you spot the two third-place finishers?

Mark Allen at Thursday’s Carbo Dinner. A six-time winner in Kona, he gave the most inspirational speech I have witnessed in my 34 years here. It was not a speech. He took us inside his head in the epic 1989 battle with Dave Scott: Goose bumps from head to toe. (After, I asked him how he did that: “I worked on this presentation for quite some time, then just tossed the unfinished script, went up on stage and said what was on my mind.”)

The 06:55 start of the age group men, the largest contingent in Kona.

Jan Frodeno of Germany as one of the first swimmers out of the water. He repeated last year’s win with a 48:02 swim, 4:29 bike and 2:45 run for a total time of 8:06:30.

Mirinda Carfrae of Australia, a three-time winner in Kona, would eventually finish second.

As you head out on the bike course and approach the scenic point, this is your view all the way to Kawaihae where a left turn brings you down a hill and a right turn takes you on the road to the Hawi turnaround on the other side of the distant mountain range.

There used to be less vegetation here…

Lava, asphalt, water, sun and wind: a most glorious concoction.

Daniela Ryf of Switzerland on the way back from Hawi and towards the right turn onto Queen Ka’ahumanu right after Kawaihae. Already in the lead, she would also repeat last year’s win with a 52:50 swim, a 4:52 bike and a 2:56 run for a total time of 8:46:46.

Alexander Stubb, a former Prime Minister of Finland, on the lava fields.

Fernanda Keller of Brazil crossing the finish line for the 25th time. She has finished third six times in Kona.

The top ten female professionals.

The top ten male professionals. Question: Can you spot the 16 Ironman victories in this image? Extra Credit: Who are they? Borderline Insane Credit: What years and who were second those years?