MEDIA RELEASE PR41705
K-Swiss Celebrates 2010 Ironman World Champion Mirinda Carfrae
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
K-Swiss Triathletes Dominate Podium in Kona
Iconic California Sport footwear and apparel brand K-Swiss is thrilled to
congratulate Mirinda Carfrae, Andreas Raelert and Julie Dibens on their
respective first, second and third place performances in K-Swiss footwear and
apparel at the 32nd Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on
Saturday, October 9th. K-Swiss also represented the first American to cross
the finish: Ironman veteran Chris Lieto.
Australian Mirinda Carfrae dominated the women's field, setting the
fourth-fastest women's time ever in Kona, to claim her first Ironman World
Champion title. Carfrae, who was runner-up last year, crossed the finish in
8:58:36 with an incredible run time of 2:53, the fastest marathon run by a
woman in Kona history. Carfrae raced in the K-Swiss K-Ruuz(TM), a super-light
racing flat.
In a tight race to the men's finish, Germany's Andreas Raelert closed a
three-minute gap to run shoulder-to-shoulder with eventual champion Chris
McCormack only falling behind in the final mile. With a marathon time of
2:44:25, less than a minute separated Raelert from first place. The current
Ironman European Champion Raelert finished with a final time of 8:12:17. This
is his second appearance at the World Championships racing in the K-Swiss
K-Ruuz. He rounded out the top three last year.
Trek/ K-Swiss athlete Julie Dibens of Great Britain earned a podium
finish in her first-ever Ironman race with 9:10:04. Dibens, the current
Ironman World Championship 70.3 Champion, maintained the lead throughout the
112-mile bike course with the fastest-split in the top three at 4:55:28 but
fell short during the marathon to friend and teammate Carfrae's
record-breaking pace. Dibens chose to race in the new K-Swiss Blade-Light(TM)
Run, one of the lightest (at 9.3oz) neutral-cushioned training shoes on the
market engineered for high mileage efficient running. The shoe features an
ultra-light cushioning technology that provides impact protection through a
series of 'blades' aligned to the angle of impact. The blades collapse and
compress in proportion to the forces applied through the running gait. After
impact, the blades return to their original shape and provide a 'springy'
feel.
Ironman veteran Chris Lieto was the first American to cross the finish in
8:25:51 for 11th place. Lieto had the best bike-split of the day with 4:23:17
and led the marathon until Mile 14. Lieto raced in the new K-Swiss Kwicky
Blade-Light, a shoe that will launch in spring 2011. The 9oz running shoe
features the brand's first-time use of the state-of-the-art SeamFree(TM) and
Ion Mask(TM) upper technologies that eliminate stitching and provide liquid
repellency that old technologies simply cannot match keeping the shoe light,
dry and clean for the life of the shoe.
This is the second year that K-Swiss is the official apparel and footwear
sponsor of Ironman. With its high-profile roster of professional triathletes,
K-Swiss has seen significant growth in awareness and on-site sales. K-Swiss
now ranks fourth in shoe count at Kona, leaping over longtime running brands
Brooks, Adidas, New Balance, Mizuno, and Nike.
To learn more about K-Swiss triathletes, the Blade-Light series and the
full range of K-Swiss performance running footwear and apparel, visit
www.kswiss.com. The Ford Ironman World Championship broadcast will air
on NBC on Dec. 18, 2010, from 4 - 6 p.m.
About K-Swiss
Founded more than forty years ago in Van Nuys, California, K-Swiss
(Nasdaq: KSWS) introduced the first all-leather tennis shoe, the K-Swiss
"Classic" in 1966. Since its inception, K-Swiss has rooted itself in
California Sport with an aim to be the most inspiring and innovative sports
brand in the market. Today the company offers performance and lifestyle
footwear and apparel for several categories under its California Sports
umbrella including Tennis Heritage, California Fit (Running, Triathlon and
Fitness) and California Youth. K-Swiss also designs, develops and markets
footwear under the Palladium brand, and owns the FORM Athletics brand. For
SOURCE: K-Swiss
CONTACT: Jennifer Macfarland of K-Swiss
+1-818-706-5136
Jmacfarland@k-swiss.com
or
Melanie Dennig
+1-212-889-1700
Melanie.Dennig@Turnerpr.com
for K-Swiss
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