Saturday was a big day for New Zealand's endurance triathletes in the 25th Ironman New Zealand with Cameron Brown winning his eighth title and Gina Ferguson her first at Taupo.
The 36-year-old defending champion Brown trailed Luxembourg's Dirk Bockel by nearly five minutes after the bike leg but overtook him 26 kilometres into the run.
Brown finished in 8hrs 18min 4secs - just over two minutes faster than the record he set four years ago .
Another New Zealander - Terrenzo Bozzone - finished second on debut with Bockel third.
Ferguson finished in 9hrs 8min 26sec, well clear of New Zealand's six-time champion Joanna Lawn with Australia's Charlotte Paul third.
