A Penticton woman made history last week during the world-renowned Ironman in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Yvonne Timewell can now call herself a world champion after an Ironman victory on Oct. 6 in the 55 to 59 age category.
Thanks to her 11:07:19 finishing time, the 54-year-old beat out the top competitors in her age group after the field of athletes completed a 2.4 miles ocean swim in the Kailua Bay, a 112-mile bike ride along a state highway and a 26.2-mile run on iconic Ali’i Drive.
Timewell was joined by 5,000 other athletes across 92 countries, regions and territories for the endurance event’s return to Kailua-Kona.
The Penticton athlete was one of two Canadian competitors last week to bring home a world title, with the other being North Vancouver’s Cullen Goodyear in the 70 to 74 female category.
Timewell’s finish was good enough to rank her 12th amongst all women in the Hawaii-based event, with ages ranging from 19 to 78.
The endurance triathlon returned to Kailua-Kona after a two-year hiatus and took place over a span of two days instead of the usual one day.
Timewell has previously appeared at the same event in both 2018 and 2019.
A pair of international stories emerged from the triathlon after Timewell’s victory, with Gustav Iden becoming the first-ever Ironman men’s world champion from Norway and Chelsea Sodaro earning the United States’ first professional world title in more than 25 years.
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