Hawaii County’s Ironman mayor gets it done

Kudos to all who competed in Saturday’s Ironman World Championship Triathlon in Kailua-Kona — with a special shout-out to first-timer Billy Kenoi, who also happens to be the mayor of Hawaii island.

Kenoi crossed the finish line in 16 hours, 54 minutes and 13 seconds — a mere 15 minutes before the event was to close — after swimming 2.4 miles, bicycling 112 miles and running 26.2 miles.

Talk about grueling events. Certainly, the top Ironman and Ironwoman deserve all the applause coming their way: Germany’s Sebastian Kienle, 30, won the event in 8 hours, 14 minutes, 18 seconds. And Australia’s Mirinda Carfrae, 33, won the women’s race in a three-peat — she was the female champion in 2010 and 2013 — finishing Saturday in just over 9 hours.

Hawaii’s got connections in the NLCS

Hawaii baseball fans had reason to cheer when Hilo native Kolten Wong came up big in Sunday’s playoff game against the San Francisco Giants. Wong hit the walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring the St. Louis Cardinals to even in MLB’s National League Championship Series, at 1-1.

For local Giants fans who might feel bad about rooting against Wong’s team, the Giants have a Hawaii connection as well: Back in 2008, catcher Buster Posey played in the Hawaii Winter League for the Waikiki BeachBoys. His three-run homer in the seventh led to his team’s victory that year over the West Oahu CaneFires in the league’s championship game.