More than 2,000 athletes from around the globe gathered in Madison on Sunday to compete in the 2008 Ironman Wisconsin triathlon.

Competitors began the event at 7 a.m. with a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Monona, followed by a 112-mile bike ride through Dane County and finished in front of the capitol building after a 26.2-mile marathon through the downtown area.

Australian Chris McDonald took home top honors in the men’s race, finishing with a time of 8 hours, 43 minutes and 29 seconds, according to Ironman Wisconsin results. In the women’s race, Hillary Biscay of Tuscon, Ariz., finished first with a time of 9:47:25.

Also among the Ironman competitors were triathletes from UW-Madison. Sara Schmitt of Duluth, Minn., said she woke up at 5 a.m. to cheer on older sister Jenny Schmitt, a fifth year student at UW-Madison studying to be a math teacher, during the race.

Schmitt said about 17 family members and friends sporting hot pink “Team Jenny” T-shirts spent the day following the first-time Ironman competitor as she swam, biked and ran her way to the finish line.

“I was bawling this morning when she went in the water,” Schmitt said of her sister’s Ironman start. “It’s really fun to watch.”