Louisville, K.Y. - More than 2,500 athletes, ranging in age from 18 to 78 entered the Ohio River at the sixth edition of IRONMAN Louisville presented by Norton Sports Health. Patrick Evoe (USA) and Bree Wee (USA) celebrated victories, crossing the finish line in 8:42:44 and 9:36:27, respectively.

Hundreds of spectators lined River Road along the Ohio River as athletes began the 2.4-mile swim under clear skies at IRONMAN Louisville. Andrew Hodges (USA), exited the water first with a time of 53:10 and was followed by Jared Woodford (USA) and Thomas Gerlach (USA). Age grouper Matthew Rose (USA) recorded the fastest split overall, beating the pros by two minutes heading into T1. Hodges would start out the 112-mile bike course in first, but was quickly overtaken by a strong group of professionals including Chris McDonald (AUS), Patrick Evoe (USA) and Gerlach. The three rode together for much of the bike until mile 70, where Evoe broke away from the pack and captured the lead heading into T2. A resident of Austin, Texas, Evoe surged through the marathon to capture his first IRONMAN victory the 2012 IRONMAN Louisville.

Top five professional men's results are below:

1. Patrick Evoe USA
2. Chris McDonald AUS
3. Thomas Gerlach USA
4. Jason Shortis AUS
5. Thomas Maliszewski USA

Defending women's champion Nina Kraft (DEU) and Jessica Stevens (USA) exited the water one minute ahead of Jackie Arendt (USA) and Bree Wee (USA) heading into T1. The top four females began the bike with Kraft leading for the first 25 miles until Wee and Arendt made their moves to the front. At the end of the bike Wee held a three minute lead over Arendt. The race would ultimately come down to the 26.2-mile run with Wee posting a 3:22:03 run-split to outlast Arendt (3:20:12) to capture her first IRONMAN victory at the 2012 IRONMAN Louisville.

Top five professional women's results are below:

1. Bree Wee
2. Jackie Arendt
3. Terra Castro
4. Heather Gollnick
5. April Gellatly

About IRONMAN Louisville presented by Norton Sports Health
One of more than 30 events in the global IRONMAN Series, IRONMAN Louisville Presented by Norton Sports Health featured a swim held in the Ohio River and a two-loop bike course that led athletes through Jefferson, Oldham and Henry Counties and the City of La Grange. The run wound its way past several of the city's signature sites, including Old Louisville, the University of Louisville and Churchill Downs with a finish line celebration at Fourth Street Live! in downtown. It offered a professional prize purse of $25,000, the race also awarded a total of 50 age group qualifying slots for the 2012 IRONMAN World Championship, taking place on Oct. 13 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i.

Visit www.ironmanlouisville.com for event information and official results. For photos or other media- related inquiries, contact Patrick Alberts at 813.525.0482 (M) or Patrick.Alberts@ironman.com.

About IRONMAN
The iconic IRONMAN® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines at the world's most challenging endurance races. Recognized for excellence through distinguished events, world-class athletes and quality products, World Triathlon Corporation (d/b/a IRONMAN), owner and operator of the IRONMAN® Series, has grown from owner of a single race to a global sensation with nearly 190 events across five unique brands: IRONMAN®, IRONMAN 70.3®, 5150TM Triathlon Series, Iron Girl® and IronKids®. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.