48 hours: Cheers all round for an inspirational wonder-woman

Everyone was cheering for Karin Bivens in Taupo. And make no mistake about it. This 60-year-old wonder-woman from America was also cheering for herself, and with good reason.

Last year, because of a marshal's error in handing out armbands, she missed the 17-hour midnight cut-off point by less than two minutes. Officially, it meant she did not finish. Sheer agony.

On her one previous Ironman attempt, in Canada, Bivens was stymied by vandals who had thrown tacks on the bike course, causing her wheels to puncture.

But late on Saturday night, Bivens could finally call herself an Ironman after finishing the highly rated New Zealand championships in 16h 14m 44s.

Not only that, as sole competitor and finisher in the women's 60-plus division she automatically qualified for the glamour Hawaiian Ironman in October, when she will have some elderly opposition.

"I'm so ecstatic - I haven't even slept I'm so wired. It makes you feel so powerful," a jubilant Bivens said yesterday while sitting in a park where the public and other competitors continued to congratulate her.

"Sometimes my toes, my feet, my hamstrings - they feel like a ton of bricks during the race. It's a long day, I was up at 3am, and that bike section was brutal.

"I joke with the people at the aid stations along the way. They ask do I want water, sports drink, Pepsi ... I say, 'Do you have any morphine?' "

No wonder fellow residents at a retirement community in Arizona eye her a little strangely, describing her as "the hyper one" as they trundle off for their leisurely golf and tennis.

But Bivens, a recently retired teacher, was also cheering for everyone else in Taupo.

She cheered for triathlon legend Ken Glah, the American who last year sprinted back to his motel to grab his finisher's medal to hand to Bivens as a consolation just after she crossed the finish line.

Glah's wife, champion Australian triathlete Jan Wanklyn, had given her medal to Bivens' 62-year-old friend Marian Davidson, who missed the cut-off point by seconds.

Davidson didn't return to compete at Taupo this year and nor did Bivens' triathlon-racing husband, Rodger, a retired financial manager.

But you try keeping Bivens away.

Not after the encouragement race director Jane Patterson gave her to have another go. And not after New Zealand triathlon great Jenny Rose offered to coach her by email, an offer gratefully received.

Bivens also cheered for family, for friends, for the Taupo crowds and supportive competitors including Glah, who told Bivens she looked in great shape as he lapped her. And she cheered loudest for an inspirational triathlete named Louie Bonpua.

Bonpua gave Bivens her earliest inspiration to compete in triathlons, including the Ironman, which tortures athletes over a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and marathon 42.2km run. Bivens took up triathlons nearly four years ago - when she lived in San Francisco - partly to help raise money for leukemia causes.

Bonpua, a leukemia sufferer, was a team-mate.

"He would say to me that I inspired him, doing this at my age," said Bivens. "I would say to him, 'You are the inspiration to all of us'."

Early in 2002, the 37-year-old Bonpua was assisted by ambulance and wheelchair to where the Olympic torch was being carried through San Francisco. He somehow stood and carried the flame nearly half a kilometre towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Hours later, he lapsed into a coma and died.

"I thought of my friend Louie, and all the people who have supported me ... the people cheering me on and taking my photo. The crowds here are phenomenal," said Bivens.

"Thinking of people like Louie is how you get through the pain, how you get to finish."

Bivens, who turns 61 in three weeks' time, was still giving her all yesterday. She hoped her feat in finishing might inspire older women to break new barriers, to get out of any mindset that limited the opportunities in their lives.

And she will give Ken Glah his medal back. "He relayed to me the true spirit of Ironman. Now that I have my own medal, I want to return that spirit," said Bivens.

"He inspired me to continue and made me feel like a winner."