Chelsea Sodaro of the United States took home the 2022 Vinfast Ironman World Championship in Kona, completing the women’s event Thursday in 8:33:46, nearly eight seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

Sodaro completed the swim portion of the race in eighth place, finishing in 00:54:48, just under four seconds behind the leader, Lucy Charles-Barclay of England.

Sodaro steadily made up ground in the 112-mile biking section. By the midway point of the bike portion, Sodaro had worked her way up to fourth, and entered the run portion just over three seconds behind the leader, defending champion and four-time winner Daniela Ryf.

In the running section, Sodaro wasted no time working her way up to the front. She caught and passed Ryf by the 5-mile mark, and seized the lead from Charles-Barclay by the 9-mile mark of the race. From there, she steadily pulled away from the rest of the field on her way to victory.

Charles-Barclay finished second with a time of 8:41:37, and Germany’s Anne Haug finished third in 8:42:22.

Sodaro’s time is the second fastest ever, trailing only Ryf’s 8:26:18 in 2018.

The men’s race will be held Saturday.