Wellington put on yet another impressive record-breaking performance by shattering the Ironman South Africa bike, run and course records, to finish in a time of 8 hours 33min 56sec.

In bettering the previous course record by an enormous 42min 36sec, Wellington's time was also good enough for an eighth-place finish overall.

Wellington exited the water in 51:40, which left her 2:45 in arrears to swim leader Amanda Stevens of the United States, who did 45:55, and only 34 seconds back to her fellow compatriot, Rachel Joyce in 51:06 as she hit the beach.

However, the 34-year-old from Bury St Edmunds then made quick work of eliminating her deficit and disposed the leading pair in the opening kilometers of the bike.

In typical Wellington fashion, she increased her lead with every pedal stroke.

In wiping out Natasha Badmann's Ironman South Africa bike course record of 4:45:23, Wellington managed to build up an insurmountable 16:51 advantage over her closest rival, Joyce, and greater leads over Belinda Granger, Stevens and Diana Riesler as competitors entered the bike-run transition.

After the damage she inflicted on the women's field on the bike, Wellington set out on a blistering pace for the three-lap run course, eventually crossing the marathon distance finish line in a time of 2:52:54 - the fastest run split of the day for both the men and women's fields.


Her remarkable time was significantly quicker than the previous women's world of 8:36:13 set in November 2010 at Ironman Arizona.

Wellington said: "I am so incredibly thrilled with the result.

"To get the victory, and break the world ironman record gives me a huge amount of pride and satisfaction, but more importantly it causes me to rethink what is humanly possible for both myself and others in endurance sports.

"Having spent the last two months training in the wonderful town of Stellenbosch near Cape Town I have had the opportunity to experience the rich South African culture, fantastic scenery, great food, incredible hospitality and passion  - and this has made racing here all the more special.

"I am so happy I was able to give everyone a show to remember."


Related stories
February 2011: "We don't need to cheat" says Wellington
July 2010: Wellington breaks world triathlon record by 12 minutes
January 2010: Wellington has emergency surgery after bike crash
November 2009: Wellington voted Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year
October 2009: Wellington ready to take up cycling for London 2012