Ironman Hawaii 2005

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii - Rudy Project athletes dominated this year`s Ironman Triathlon World Championship, with Normann Stadler and Nina Kraft each claiming their first championship titles on Saturday, October 16. Stadler`s finish time was 8:33:29 and Kraft crossed the line on Alii Drive at 9:33:25.

Norman Stadler from Germany spent the whole day in blistering heat which at some parts climbed as high as 45 degrees and strong winds to win his first ever IM championships.
With a lead of just on 20mins off the bike, the question was could he hold on in the marathon with some of the hottest temperatures ever encountered in the history of the event.
Although his lead was cut by half, the strong German managed to hold on to cement his name in history in one of the toughest ever days in Kona Hawaii to win his first ever IM world Championships.

Kraft claimed her victory and similar to Normann, had a strong lead over the women`s field for a majority of the race. “Nina the Power Machina” controlled the bike with more than an 18-minute lead at the 95-mile marker. Being the only women this year to break the 9-hour mark must have prepared her well for the world championship race.

In a telephone conversation after the finish with Cristiano, Simone Barbazza and their farther - Rudy Barbazza (founder of Rudy Project eyewear 20 years ago) the athletes thanked them for producing performance eyewear that lived up to the conditions thrown at them. Norman and Nina used the model RYDON throughout the event.

Unifying seamlessly advanced design technology and materials science, the RYDON blendes cutting-edge ergonomic features with advanced materials (Carbon, Aluminium, Magnesium, Silicium and Titanium) to create a super-lightweight, versatile, high performance sunglass. Rydon has been uniquely engineered with a carbonium frame and revolutionary aerospatial aluminium alloy (Kynetium) temples which combine Magnesium, Silicium and Titanium to create an unbelievably lightweight (mg), durable (ti) and flexible (si) sunglass. These material advances allowed for the design specifications to be "pushed" giving our engineers the ability to create a stunning wraparound masterpiece.