Top-10 finishes were bittersweet for Australian triathlon stars Mirinda Carfrae and Cameron Wurf on a day of record-smashing feats at the Hawaiian Ironman.
German Patrick Lange broke one of the triathlon's most coveted barriers, becoming the first to better eight hours at Kona.
The defending champion finished the 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km run in seven hours 52 minutes 39 seconds, improving his race record by nine minutes as unusually benign conditions contributed to extremely fast racing.
Swiss ace Daniela Ryf won a fourth-straight women's title and torched her race record by 20 minutes with 8:26:18.
Ryf recovered from a jellyfish sting before the race start to also break the women's bike course record by 18 minutes.
Carfrae, the three-time champion, posted her fastest time at Kona to finish fifth in 8:50:45.
Daniela Ryf won the Ironman for the fourth time on a row. Source: Getty
Setting aside her DNF three years ago, it is the first time the super-consistent Australian has finished off the podium at Kona.
Compatriot Sarah Crowley was sixth in 8:52:30, a year after finishing third.
Wurf finished ninth - the first Australian men's top-10 finish at Hawaii since 2014.
The former pro cyclist broke the bike course record he set last year by three minutes on the way to finishing in 8:10:32, while New Zealand's Braden Currie was fifth in 8:04:41.
Carfrae had last year off following the birth of her first child Isabelle.
While she was rapt American husband Tim O'Donnell finished fourth, Carfrae wanted more from herself.
She paid dearly, sitting on ice post-race to soothe her hamstrings.
"I got it done ... I'm a little bit disappointed with my performance," said Carfrae, who is renowned for her withering run.
"I thought I had a better run in me ... I probably ran about 10 minutes slower than I have in the past.
"It's disappointing to have a bad race - and motivating - but right now I just want to spend time with my daughter."
The Hawaiian Ironman is notorious for its brutal conditions and Carfrae agreed the weather was unusually kind, leading to numerous records tumbling.
"The conditions out there were the best I've ever seen - barely any wind on the bike, a lot of cloud cover on the run and quite cool - a very, very, very fast day," she said.
Wurf finished 19th last year and was pleased to see improvement, but also wanted to be more of a contender.
"I guess I did what was expected of me and I didn't quite get the result I dreamed of," Wurf said.
"But it's probably the result I deserved - it's just where I'm at."
RECORDS SMASHED AT 40TH HAWAIIAN IRONMAN TRIATHLON
Ironman 2018. Source: Getty
* Weather conditions were unusually benign for Kona - little wind on the bike and not too humid on the run.
* Great Britain's Lucy Charles women's swim record 48 minutes 13 seconds (Jodi Jackson, 48:43, 1999).
* Australian Cameron Wurf men's bike record 4:09:06 (Wurf, 4:12:54, 2017).
* Swiss Daniela Ryf women's bike record 4:26:07 (Karin Thuerig, 4:44:20, 2011). The fastest six women, including Australian Sarah Crowley, went under the old mark.
* German Patrick Lange men's course record 7:52:39 (Lange, 8:01:40, 2017). Second-placed Belgian Bart Aernouts finished in 7:56:41 and third-placed David McNamee (Great Britain) clocked 8:01:09.
* Ryf women's course record, 8:26:18 (Ryf, 8:46:46, 2016). Charles second in 8:36:34 and Anne Haug (Germany) third in 8:41:58.
* Three-time Australian winner Mirinda Carfrae finished fifth with her fastest Hawaiian Ironman time of 8:50:45. Her previous best of 8:52:14 in 2014 was the race record.
