Ironman World Championship 2014: Winner, Complete Results and Times from Hawaii

Hawaii may be one of the world's great paradises, but for eight-plus hours every year, it becomes the exotic locale of a self-inflicted purgatory for competitors in the Ironman World Championship.

In the 2014 iteration of the event, Germany's Sebastian Kienle came in first among all competitors, finishing the event in eight hours, 14 minutes and 18 seconds. Australia's Mirinda Carfrae topped all female competitors and finished 33rd overall, completing the race in nine hours, 55 seconds.

Indeed, the punishing test of physical and mental endurance has a finish line, making the task more Herculean than it is Sisyphean.

For some, the true competition may be between the self rather than the other souls embarking upon the 140.6-mile journey. However, there is still a declared winner and a final leaderboard. Some people just need the extra motivation. Here are the top 10 finishers from both the women's and men's divisions.

Rank	Men	Country	Time (Hrs,Min,Sec)	Women	Country	Time
1	Sebastian Kienle	Germany	8:14:18	Mirinda Carfrae	Australia	9:00:55
2	Ben Hoffman	USA	8:19:23	Daniela Ryf	Switzerland	9:02:57
3	Jan Frodeno	Germany	8:20:32	Rachel Joyce	Great Britain	9:04:23
4	Andy Potts	USA	8:21:38	Jodie Swallow	Great Britain	9:10:19
5	Cyril Viennot	France	8:22:19	Caroline Steffen	Switzerland	9:12:43
6	Nils Frommhold	Germany	8:22:29	Julia Gajer	Germany	9:16:58
7	Tim Van Berkel	Australia	8:23:26	Liz Lyles	USA	9:18:11
8	Frederik Van Lierde	Belgium	8:24:11	Gina Crawford	New Zealand	9:19:21
9	Bart Aernouts	Belgium	8:28:28	Mary Beth Ellis	USA	9:20:46
10	Romain Guillaume	France	8:30:15	Liz Blatchford	Australia	9:23:24

Note: Full results can be found at Ironman.com.

Six-time Ironman champion Mark Allen provided a look at Kienle at the finish line:

Unlike your local marathon or triathlon, competitors must qualify through other Ironman events in order to have the pleasure—and lifetime party-conversation starter—of competing at the World Championship in Kona. The Ironman consists of a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and topped off with a marathon (26.2 miles on foot for the uninitiated).

This competition is perhaps the absolute opposite of spending your entire Saturday fused to the couch watching college football—or club soccer, for the international fans. Basically, what Kienle, Carfrae and the rest of the men and women in the field have accomplished is tremendous.

Belgium's Frederik Van Lierde, who won this competition in 2013, did his best before the race to describe the mix of emotions that one feels with a well-deserved victory.

"The feeling of winning it, you know, that's really hard to explain—it's a mixture of a lot of emotions,” he told Edge, via Sports Illustrated's Brian T. Dessart. “Happiness, of course, but then also relief, accomplishment, unbelief and satisfaction. I raced my own race, and in the end I was smart and patient enough to bring it home."

Kienle and his countrymen put on a superlative performance on Saturday. 220 Triathlon noted he performed quite well in the marathon, shrugging off the fatigue to set a strong per-mile pace:

220 Triathlon also noted Carfrae raced past the competition in the marathon:

Germany was the dominant country in the men's competition, with three competitors finishing in the top five, including the winner Kienle. Great Britain and its former colonies ran/swam/biked rampant in the women's competition, with representatives from the aforementioned country, Australia, the United States and New Zealand taking the majority of spots in the top 10.

The competition had plenty of online coverage, with a live stream of the race available on the event website. Individual competitions can rarely hold up to team sports from an overall popularity standpoint, but the ability of fans from around the world to watch the Ironman is unique and perhaps inspiring to those looking for their next athletic challenge in life. If there is an example for a budding young athlete to follow, the Ironman competitors are a fine group to emulate.