Gina disappointed with finish

Australian Mirinda Carfrae celebrates victory in Hawaii on Sunday. PHOTO/DELLY CARR MIRINDA-CARFRAE

Missing her early morning alarm may have cost Wanganui athlete Gina Crawford a podium finish in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii on Sunday.

Crawford moved back to Wanganui from Wanaka in April and had expected a medal-winning performance from herself in the lead-up to the GoPro-presented event in Kona despite it being one of the toughest races on the international calendar.

Crawford finished eighth in 9h 19m 21s after vomiting in the early stages of the race.

Mother-in-law Susan Corbett said she had talked to Gina on Facebook since the race on Sunday and said her daughter-in-law was not happy with herself.

"Gina slept through her morning alarm so was running late all day. She was forced to jam her breakfast in much closer to race time than she normally would and vomited in the early part of the event," Corbett said.

"She really was expecting a podium finish and everyone picked her to run third, so she was disappointed."

Corbett said Crawford flies back to Wanganui from Auckland on the midday flight on Friday.

Meanwhile, Wanganui-born and bred amateur Melanie Burke finished in a creditable 26th place in her first world championship in the professional ranks.

The 34-year-old now based in Auckland ran the race in 9h 54m 04s, about 35 minutes behind Crawford. Mother Kathy Burke said she had yet to talk to her daughter since Sunday's race.

Australia's Mirinda Carfrae produced the greatest run of her life to secure her third title at Kona.

Carfrae's win confirmed her status as one of the all-time greats when she overcame a deficit of nearly 15 minutes on the back of another withering marathon run.

She becomes just the fourth woman to win three titles or more, joining American Paula Newby Fraser (eight), Swiss Natascha Badmann (six) and Great Britain's Chrissie Wellington (four).

Crawford continued her consistently strong effort in Hawaii, finishing eighth and ahead of a number of big names including top American hope Mere Beth Ellis and last year's podium placegetter Liz Blatchford (Australia).

It was not such good news for the men with Terenzo Bozzone and Bevan Docherty withdrawing on the bike.

The men's race was dominated by the European charge early, with two-time Ironman 70.3 champion Sebastian Kienle taking charge on the bike, opening up a telling buffer that led to his maiden victory in 8h 14m 18s.

The German finished five clear of American Ben Hoffman with current Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific champion Jan Frodeno powering home for third in his first attempt in Hawaii.