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 Ali91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™i Drive.
Timewell was joined by 5,000 other athletes across 92 countries, regions and territories for the endurance event91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™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 Vancouver91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s Cullen Goodyear in the 70 to 74 female category.
Timewell91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™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 Timewell91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s victory, with Gustav Iden becoming the first-ever Ironman men91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s world champion from Norway and Chelsea Sodaro earning the United States91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™ first professional world title in more than 25 years.