Dozens of athletes took part in an Olympic distance triathlon in Burnham-On-Sea on Sunday (September 11th).
A total of 77 triathletes from across the UK completed the event, which comprised a 1,500 metre sea swim, 40km bike ride and a 10km run.
The event was won by Iain Hindes from North Devon Triathletes in a time of two hours, four minutes and 24 seconds. He was four and a half minutes ahead of second-placed Laurence Hewetson and over eight minutes ahead of third-placed Matthew Cooke (all three are pictured right).
First lady home was Maria Powell, who completed the course in two hours, 14 minutes and 44 seconds. The full results are available here.
One of the organisers, Mark Cox-Conklin, from Burnham Swim and Sports Academy, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “This was the first time we’ve held an Olympic distance event so it was a bit of test, but we were super pleased with how it went.”
“The stormy weather held off and we had great conditions for the sea swim and the other stages of the event.”
The triathlon started at 6.45am with a bracing sea swim and was followed by a bike run to Wedmore, passing through Cheddar, Rooksbridge and Brent Knoll, and finished with a 10km run.
Triathlete Sarah Window running beside the River Brue during the event
The competitors raced into the sea at the start of the triathlon
The RNLI helped this swimmer during Sunday’s event
One of the cyclists in the countryside near Cheddar during the event
The 40km bike ride took the cyclists as far as Cheddar and Wedmore
The running stage saw the competitors pacing along the seafront
… and along the River Brue estuary to Highbridge’s Apex Park
The event’s racers splashing out of the sea during the event
Ready, get set… the racers lined up on the beach for the starting gun
A full safety briefing was held at the start of Sunday’s event
The finishing line on Burnham seafront was a welcome sight for the finishers
The first three ladies to finish on the winners podium
Burnham entrant Jack Lovell arriving at the bike transition
Winner Iain Hindes from North Devon Triathletes during the cycling stage
Photos: Jason Adams and Bill Price
