LANGKAWI: Brazilian Fernando Toldi edged his rivals to claim the overall men's champion title at the Ironman Malaysia Championship here today.
Toldi, 37, crossed the finish line at Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa with a time of 8 hours, 10 minutes, and 23 seconds.
Second place in the men's category was secured by Australian competitor Tim Van Berkel (8:13:38), while Andreas Dreitz from Germany (8:18:07) had to settle for third place.
Australia dominated the women's category with Regan Hollioke and Katie Remond taking first and second places with times of 9:13:07 and 9:30:00, respectively.
Third place went to Italian triathlete Federica De Nicola (9:42:05).
Meanwhile, Romanian triathlete Toma Alexandru, who put on a consistent performance, emerged as the overall champion in the men's Ironman 70.3 Langkawi category.
Alexandru crossed the finish line with an overall time of 4 hours, 17 minutes, and 33 seconds, completing the swim in 24:38, the bike ride in 2:47:01, and the marathon run in 1:28:45.
Second place was claimed by Assad Attamimi from Australia (4:31:39), while Haoran Lin from China (4:39:15) took third place.
In the women's category, Brazil's Bianca Marcon was crowned champion with a time of 4:56:43, while French triathlete Ines Caby and Russia's Tatiana Timofeeva secured second and third places with times of 5:08:57 and 5:29:41, respectively.
Both prestigious championships were organised by World Endurance Malaysia Sdn Bhd (WEMSB).
Ironman Malaysia involves three disciplines: a 3.8-kilometre (km) swim, a 180km cycle, and a 42.2km run.
Ironman 70.3 Langkawi also involves three disciplines but with shorter distances, featuring a 1.9km swim, a 90km cycle, and a 21.1km run.
The oldest participant in Ironman Malaysia was 72-year-old Masanori Mori from Japan, while 71-year-old Pamela Williams from Australia competed in Ironman 70.3 Langkawi.