Ironman World Championship 2015: Winner, Complete Results and Times from Hawaii

The 2015 Ironman World Championship, honoring the best male and female athletes in three disciplines (swimming, biking, running), took place Saturday in Hawaii with Jan Frodeno and Daniela Ryf coming out as the big winners.

Result	Male Finishers	Female Finishers
1	Jan Frodeno, Germany (8:14.40)	Daniela Ryf, Switzerland (8:57.57)
2	Andreas Raelert, Germany (8:17.43)	Rachel Joyce, Great Britain (9:10.59)
3	Tim O'Donnell, USA (8:18.50)	Liz Blatchford, Great Britain (9:14.52)
4	Andy Potts, USA (8:21.25)	Michelle Vesterby, Denmark (9:18.50)
5	Tyler Butterfield, Bermuda (8:23.09)	Heather Jackson, USA (9:21.45)

Germany's Sebastian Kienle and Australia's Mirinda Carfrae were under the microscope as the defending Ironman champions.

Unfortunately for Carfrae, her day ended prematurely, as she tweeted about an injury that forced her to withdraw during the bike stage:

That opened things up on the women's side, with Ryf taking full advantage of the opportunity. The 28-year-old was the runner-up in this event last year but has won the last two Ironman 70.3 World Championships. 

Per the Ironman Triathlon on Twitter, Ryf was aware of how much a victory would mean:

Ryf opened things up during the bike session, taking a three-minute lead over Jodie Swallow with just over 20 miles to go before heading into the marathon. She wound up coasting to a 13-minute margin of victory.

Not surprisingly, per the Ironman Triathlon, Ryf was the first female to start the 26.2-mile trek:

The marathon was set to be the most difficult part of the race, not just because it's the final phase. Per the Ironman Triathlon, temperatures on the course were at 90 degrees in the air and close to 120 degrees on the asphalt.

Per Ironman Asia Pacific, Ryf showed off her modesty in an impressive victory:

Kienle also came up short in his quest to repeat, though he was able to make it all the way through. The problem was that Frodeno wasn't going to be stopped. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist caught up to Tim O'Donnell during the bike race, then opened up his lead in the marathon. 

ASICS America tweeted a video of Frodeno while he was opening up a lead on the course:

This has turned into a terrific year for Frodeno. He set a new course record at the Ironman European Championship in July and came back three months later to pair that victory with an Ironman World Championship. 

Per the Ironman Triathlon, Frodeno also made history with his victory Saturday:

Speaking after his victory, per Ironman.com's live blog, Frodeno noted how difficult the weather conditions made things on the athletes. 

"I had good run form, but it was brutal," Frodeno said. "Hotter than Frankfurt. No shade at all. If you're going uphill, your heart rate goes up and it just doesn't come back down."

O'Donnell was able to get the United States on the podium with a solid third-place finish, but this marks the 13th consecutive year in which an American has failed to win gold at the Ironman World Championship. 

Last year's top American finisher, Ben Hoffman, who was the runner-up in 2014, struggled to make it through to the end because of apparent stomach issues, per the Ironman Triathlon. His problems opened the door for O'Donnell, who had never finished higher than fifth at the Ironman World Championship.

This was a day for athletes to finally have their big breakthrough moments. Frodeno and Ryf have been on the cusp of greatness in the event before. On Saturday, they caught the right waves and wind pressure, riding them to emotional wins in different ways.

Full leaderboard and finishing times can be found at Ironman.com.