Mirinda Carfrae has declared she will be back for next year's Hawaii Ironman world championships in a bid to break Swiss ace Daniela Ryf's firm grasp on triathlon's holy grail.
Ryf bagged her third-straight win in Kona on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) in a time of eight hours, 50 minutes and 47 seconds.
She was pushed harder than previous years by Great Britain's Lucy Charles and Australia's Sarah Crowley but still triumphed by almost nine minutes.
The 24-year-old Charles, on her Hawaii Ironman debut, was especially daring on the cycle leg, leading for most of the 180km course before being overtaken by Ryf.
And Queensland-based Crowley continued her excellent year by matching it with Ryf before the 30-year-old's class prevailed.
But Ryf's biggest threat in 2018 will arguably come from Australia's three-time Hawaii Ironman champion Carfrae, who didn't race this year after giving birth to a baby girl only two months ago.
Carfrae was the last woman to beat Ryf in Kona when her trademark slick marathon run steered her home to victory in 2014.
The 36-year-old Queenslander boasts a phenomenal strike-rate at the famed race, missing the top three just once - in 2015 - in eight starts.
Carfrae loves being a mum but vowed to return for the event that ignites her passion for the sport.
"This is the one race that motivates me to continue to push, the one that gets me out of bed to train and do the hard yards," she told AAP in Kona.
"So yeah, I'm planning to come back next year. Fingers crossed, everything goes well and my body bounces back."
Tim Van Berkel was Australia's best-placed male in 15th, but there were some good signs.
On their Hawaii Ironman debuts, Josh Amberger led out of the swim and Cameron Wurf set a new bike course record with a scorching time of 4:12:54 to lead going into the run leg.
Wurf faded to finish 17th and Amberger 29th as German Patrick Lange stormed to victory on Ali'I Drive, breaking Australian Craig Alexander's course record set in 2011.
Canadian Lionel Sanders was 2:27 behind in second followed by Great Britain's David McNamee.
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