Garcia tops local finishers at Ironman World Championship

KONA, Hawaii — Three triathletes from the Coeur d’Alene area participated in the Ford Ironman World Championship on Saturday — Derek Garcia, Paul Burke and Suzanne Endsley.

The 26-year-old Garcia, of Post Falls, posted an overall time of 9 hours, 48 minutes, 37 seconds. He was 39th in his men’s 25-29 age group, finishing the swim leg in 1:01:08, the bike leg in 5:07:27, and the run in 3:33:29.

Burke, 61, of Coeur d’Alene, completed the course in 16 hours, 30 minues, 41 seconds. Competing in the 60-64 division, he was the 47th finisher in his group. Burke posted a 2:01:21 swim, a 7:19:02 bike and a 6:48:09 run.

Endsley, 45, another Coeur d’Alene racer, finished the swim in 1 hour, 25 minutes, 27 seconds, and rode 112 miles in 5:56:52. She did not complete the run.

The world championship race consisted of a 2.4-mile swim across the open waters of Kailua Bay, a 112-mile bike leg along the western shoreline of the Big Island, and a 26.2-mile run.

Australian Chris McCormack was the overall winner with a time of 8:10:37. The top female finisher was Australian Mirinda Carfrae, who completed the course in 8:58:36.