British triathlete Lucy Charles-Barclay finished second for the third year running at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

It was a case of so close yet so far for the 26-year-old, as she led for seven-and-a half hours of the race but was eventually beaten to the finish in the marathon by Germany's Anne Haug.

Australian Sarah Crowley finished third, after Charles-Barclay recovered at the end to regain second place.

After Charles-Barclay took the lead in the 2.4 mile swim, she started at the front in the 112 mile cycle with a five minute lead. Heading into the marathon, she had an eight minute advantage.

But with just 10 kilometres to go, Haug went ahead of Charles-Barclay and posted a marathon time of 2:51:07 making her the first German to win the title in 8:40:10.

After the race, Charles-Barclay said: "I felt like the island was tough on me, but I'm super proud to get second."