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Tarpon Springs, FL (November 29, 2007) – Tune in this Saturday, December 1 as NBC airs the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. ET. To date, the 90-minute broadcast has earned nearly 40 Emmy nominations, won 14 Emmy awards and received three prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Awards.
Taped on location in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on October 13, 2007, watch as more than 1,700 athletes complete a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. Australia’s Chris McCormack crossed the finish line in first with a time of 8:15:34 and Great Britain’s Chrissie Wellington also celebrated her first championship title at 9:08:45. The list of 2007’s professional field was long and highly competitive with numerous world champions, such as Normann Stadler, Natascha Badmann, Faris Al-Sultan and Michellie Jones. Other standouts in the field included: Rutger Beke, Lisa Bentley, Craig Alexander, Desiree Ficker, Samantha McGlone, Joanna Lawn and Cameron Brown. The pro race made for an interesting day this year as many of the top contenders were forced to drop out due to illness.
In addition to professional and age group athletes battling the harsh elements of Hawaii’s Big Island on their 140.6 mile journey, viewers will also experience some of the inspirational athletes who took part in this year’s race. Their stories include:
· While in college in 2004, swim star Brian Boyle was in a car accident that almost took his life. He died eight times on the operating table and was told he may never walk again. Boyle would eventually return to collegiate swimming and, this year, took on the challenge of the Ford Ironman World Championship.
· At the age of 64, Charlie Plaskon believes that “Anything Is Possible.” He demonstrates the Ironman mantra as a blind athlete who competed on behalf of the C-Different Foundation, with his guide, Matt Miller.
· Also the victim of a tragic vehicle accident, Atlanta-native, Scott Rigsby arrived in Kona this year with the dream of becoming the first above-the-knee double-amputee with prosthetics to finish the Ford Ironman World Championship.
· Formerly known from the hit television show, The Bachelor, Lt. Andy Baldwin, a Naval officer and physician, added another World Championship finish to his resume.
The television coverage of the Ford Ironman World Championship has long provided the most visible and inspiring images of the event to the world. One of Ironman’s crowning moments came in 1982 when cameras captured a scene that would be etched in the minds of millions for years to come. The scene that would come to embody the spirit of Ironman showed a young woman named Julie Moss, physically and mentally spent, drawing on only heart and fortitude to crawl across the finish line. Those images of courage and determination launched Ironman into an international sensation and have kept television viewers riveted to their sets ever since.
For more information on Ironman, visit Ironman.com.
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