KAILUA-KONA — Ivy and Jim McGowan were not the first to finish, or even the last at the Ironman World Championship on Saturday.
But as the clock approached midnight at the Alii Drive finish line, the Kailua-Kona couple produced one of the best and most emotional moments of race day.
After almost 17 hours on the course — and not seeing each other for most of the day — the McGowans found each other on the way back into town on the run and crossed the most storied finish line in triathlons together, hand-in-hand.
As the Voice of Ironman, Mike Reilly, declared their names to the crowd, Jim embraced Ivy, who got on her tip-toes and gave her husband a giant smooch, severely decreasing the number of dry eyes in the crowd.
“We had hoped to be able to cross the line together, but Jim got out quite a bit before me and is a faster swimmer. By the time I hit OTEC I really had to kick it into gear to catch him, but he might have slowed down a bit to let me catch up,” Ivy said. “I guess chivalry is not dead.”
It was a stroke of luck just for the McGowans to get into the race together. Each had competed in their hometown world championship separately — Ivy in 2014 and Jim in 2016. Doing the race with each other seemed like a pipe dream, but it became a reality when the pair were picked in the local athlete drawing.
“We are lucky people,” Ivy said.
While they finished together, the results indicate Ivy gets house bragging rights. She finished the race in 16 hours, 17 minutes and 29 seconds, with Jim exactly 15 minutes behind, which was the difference between the start times for the age-group men and women.
So, was it all worth it?
“Are you kidding,” Jim said. “Best moment of my life.”
“Well, second,” Ivy said, with Jim’s nodding approval. “Our wedding was the first.”
After their moment in the spotlight, the couple retreated into the night, seeking a slice of pizza and some rest. However, the night was far from over for the Kona crew of competitors.
A little more than two minutes later, Agnes Prehn, who was flanked by a faithful support crew for most of the day, made her way across the finish line to raucous applause.
She closed out the night as the final Big Island finisher.
“I can’t believe it actually happened,” Prehn said. “I had all my friends and family there at the finish line. I couldn’t have done it without them. It’s crazy!”
