During the 35-year history of Ironman triathalon competitions, only 40 women have finished an Ironman in less than nine hours. Liz Lyles accomplished that feat this past weekend, after having travelled for 24 hours, crossing the International Date Line and jumping eight time zones only four days prior to the event!
It was only the second time in the 10-year history of the Western Australia Ironman that a woman beat the nine hour barrier.
As one news station put it: Liz Lyles has had a monster back end of the season, racing at Ironman Lake Tahoe – possibly the toughest race this year – followed by Ironman World Championships and now lining up for the SunSmart Ironman Western Australia event. Lyles started her professional career in May last year after a four year hiatus from racing triathlon to have two children. Just four months after her step up to professional racing, she won at Ironman Wisconsin in 2012. Lyles has the most impressive running resume of the women racing, breaking the three hour marker before and usually hitting the very low threes every iron-distance
SEE LIZ LIVE—below are links to two short interviews … one prior to the event and one after.