Kate Bevilaqua WA Ironman Champion!

Kate Bevilaqua rides selle SMP to victory at Ironman WA

Kate Bevilaqua proved her strength of mind and spirit with her gutsy win in the WA Ironman.

The 32-year-old from Perth stumbled down the finish chute clutching crowd barriers for support, before collapsing unconscious on the finish line after nine hours, 19 minutes on the race course.

Bevilaqua scored her first Ironman win, beating race favourite Rebekah Keat by less than three minutes after a back-and-forth tussle throughout the run.

She had to overcome an eight-minute deficit after the swim, but a strong bike leg put her 100 metres in front of Keat at the second transition.

The pair ran within sight of each other for most of the marathon, but Bevilaqua eventually pulled away and was able to maintain the lead, despite running out of energy in the final kilometres.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it; I had no feeling from the waist down,” she said.

“The thought of the finish line (kept me going). My goal has always been to win an Ironman and I couldn’t get so close and let the opportunity pass me by. I had to keep going, no matter what the body was saying.”

Australia’s newest Ironman champion now plans to take a well-earned break to let the body recover before planning next year’s racing schedule.

Runner-up Keat admitted: “I’m pretty smashed. Kate dug really deep. I couldn’t catch Kate; she was too strong today.”

Originally from: http://ironman.com/events/ironman/westernaustralia/hometown-victory-at-sunsmart-ironman-western-australia-2010#ixzz18bSR9mSn