Estonia's Kirill Kotsegarov on the Chattanooga IRONMAN in a photo finish on a Sunday that saw 2,500 athletes and thousands more fans flood downtown.

Kotsegarov just nipped Matt Chrabot of Virginia Beach, Va.

Stephan Schmid was just six seconds behind Chrabot thundering down Riverfront Parkway to the fan-packed finish at Ross's Landing.

It was Kotsegarov 8:08:32, Chrabot 8:08:34 and Schmid 8:08:40.

Carrie Lester of Australia had the top women's time of 8:56.

The day began with a point-to-point swim in the Tennessee River with Balazs Csoke (HUN) first out of the water in 40:48. Eric Limkemann (USA), Chrabot and Alberto Casadei (ITA) were next to hit the exit at Ross’s Landing, just seconds after the leader.



Once on the bike Limkemann, TJ Tollakson (USA) and Chrabot forged to the front early. Rider positions were shuffled nearing the end of the bike course with Limkemann dismounting his bike with a 90-second lead over Karl-Johan Danielsson (SWE) Stefan Schmid (DEU) Kirill Kotsegarov (EST), Tollakson and Chrabot. With the first six men off the bike all within 1:48 of each other, it was a forgone conclusion there were going to be fireworks in the men’s race.



Nearing the first half of the marathon, Chrabot caught Limkemann and eventually distanced himself from the early leader. Behind the pair, Kotsegarov and Schmid were running in third and fourth a minute and a half back. With three miles to go, Chrabot, Kotsegarov and Schmid were running shoulder to shoulder. Nearing the finish line, Kotsegarov and Schmid dropped Chrabot and the pair were left to sprint it out for the win within the finish line chute. Kotsegarov put in a final surge at the end to capture the win by less than two seconds over a diving Schmid. Chrabot was third, a mere eight seconds after Kotsegarov.

The women’s race began with Anna Cleaver (USA) leading Christina Jackson (USA) out of the water by eight seconds. Over a minute and half back were Katy Blakemore (USA), Darbi Roberts (USA), Kathryn Thomas (USA) and Lester.



Lester proved to be the strongest on the bike and continued on to record the fastest bike split of the day in 5:01:16. She managed to carry advantages of over seven minutes on Bree Wee (USA) and Cleaver racing into T2.



Once out on the run Lester pulled away from the field, holding a 15-minute leading margin at one point in the race. Behind her, Lisa Roberts (USA) was laying down the fastest run time of the day and making her way through the field. Lester would claim the 2015 Little Debbie IRONMAN Chattanooga title with a 12:47 winning margin over Roberts, while Kim Schwabenbauer (USA) would finish third with a time of 9:14:11.

Some of the participants were still trudging along way past dark - to the encouragement of a host of volunteers and fans.

Many of those in the audience - including some in colorful costumes - waited patiently for their favorite to come by.

They wore matching Tshirts, held signs and cheered.

The event, which was the city's second full IRONMAN, was said to have an $11 million economic pact.

The participants were from all over the world. A woman from Bolivia finished just ahead of an entry from Hawaii.

One of the participants was Steve Bean, who was swimming, biking and running in memory of his son, Cameron Bean, who died recently after being hit by a motorist on Moccasin Bend Road.

Tonya Felix was surprised before a big crowd by a marriage proposal near the IRONMAN finish line.

Top five professional women’s results:

SWIM BIKE RUN FINISH

1. Carrie Lester AUS 00:44:35 05:01:16 03:05:05 08:56:00

2. Lisa Roberts USA 00:51:50 05:10:29 03:01:04 09:08:46

3. Kim Schwabenbauer USA 00:48:50 05:11:55 03:08:28 09:14:11

4. Bianca Steurer AUT 00:47:03 05:15:29 03:10:05 09:18:17

5. Bree Wee USA 00:45:45 05:07:01 03:20:04 09:19:41