COEUR d'ALENE -- Over 2,500 athletes competed in the 2011 Ford Ironman in Coeur d'Alene Sunday, with two setting new course records.
Professional triathlete Craig Alexander wasn't expected to compete in the race today due to illness. Apparently, he's feeling better. The Australian took home his first Ironman in the Lake City to go along with two World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Alexander competed the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run in a record eight hours, 19 minutes and 48 seconds.
For the third consecutive year, a course record was broken in the women's race. Julie Dibens was born in England, but now calls Boulder, Colorado her home. She blazed through the 140 event in a record time of nine hours, 16 minutes and 40 seconds. That beats last year's mark by one minute, 14 seconds.
Spokane's Haley Cooper-Scott finished third in the women's competition.
