As the sun rose over Tempe Town Lake on Saturday morning, nearly 2,000 athletes jumped into the 68-degree water and waited while the roughly 20,000 onlookers sang the national anthem.
At the sound of a cannon, fired by Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman, the athletes took off on the 2.4-mile swim that was the first leg of the event.
The first Ironman Arizona Triathlon brought people to Tempe from all over the world to see their friends and family compete for one of 80 qualifying spots for the World Championship Ironman in Kona, Hawaii, in October.
Nine Arizona athletes qualified for the championship, including Kimo Seymour and Dan Malmgren of Tempe.
Kyle Biggs, a human nutrition senior and first-time Ironman participant, finished the race in 11:52.34, placing 12th in his age group.
The top finisher for the men was Faris Al-Sultan, a 27-year-old student from Germany. Sultan finished the 140.6-mile race in 8:25.42. Kate Major, a 27-year old professional athlete from Australia, was the top finisher for the women, completing the course in 9:44.26.
The excitement of the event took hold of the spectators when the swimmers left the water and began their transition to the bike race.
About 50 volunteers, referred to as "peelers," helped the athletes out of their wetsuits as they ran barefoot across the sidewalk next to the lake.
They ran into a tent, emerged with cycling gear on and headed toward the thousands of bicycles that stood ready for the 112-mile ride. Some of the athletes had their shoes attached to the pedals of their bicycle to save time.
After the bike ride came a 26.2-mile marathon and what many of the athletes considered the most difficult portion.
"It's probably the most challenging because it's after doing those two other disciplines," Biggs said.
Despite never running a marathon before, Biggs said the last six miles were his favorite part of the race. He added that the familiar sight of Tempe kept him going. "On the last loop I thought, 'I'm just going home,' " he said.
Biggs said registration for next year's Ironman Arizona begins on April 15 and he plans to sign up right away.
"I would certainly do this again, and I would recommend it to anyone," he said.
Many spectators besieged Mill Avenue during the race and restaurants experienced a high volume of business.
Mill's End, a coffee shop near the race site, had a line out to the sidewalk from 5:30 a.m., when it opened, until 1 p.m.
"We had about a thousand people in here during that time," said Sam Hammad, co-owner of Mill's End.
"We weren't 100 percent sure what to expect," Hammad said. "But it was crazy busy."
Customers waited up to 30 minutes for coffee and a crepe, but Hammad said he received only one complaint.
"I think he was just grumpy," he added.
Hammad said he was happy Ironman would be coming to Tempe for the next 4 years.
Reach the reporter at emilia.arnold@asu.edu.
