High spirits as Ironman finally arrives in Weymouth

Due to adverse weather conditions however, the swimming leg of the race had to be cancelled, making the triathlon a duathlon.

There was plenty of support from crowds when the first athlete, Stephen Derrett crossed the finish line, with spectators coming from across the country to cheer the competitors on, including Sarah and Natalie Rayson from Cornwall.

The pair said: “We’re from Cornwall and my cousin is doing his first Ironman today. Some of us have done mini triathlons so we know how tiring just doing one mile is, so we’re cheering everyone on.”

Sarah and Natalie Rayson came up from Cornwall (Image: Hollie Carr)

This is the second time that Stephen Derrett has won the prestigious winners title after coming first place back in 2021.

Stephen said: “I had a puncture and it cost me about three minutes and I was very lucky to be able to carry on.”

His friend that was also taking part in the competition suffered a puncture of his own that forced him to have to drop out of the race altogether.

In his winner’s speech Stephen said: “I’ll dedicate this one straight to him, he’s a really good mate and I was really gutted he couldn’t finish it.”

The triathlete finished with a time of three hours, 37 minutes and 29 seconds, which earned him the top spot out of 2,122 other male and female athletes.

In the women’s category, German athlete Tina Christmann nabbed the top spot with an overall time of four hours, four minutes, and 55 seconds.

Tina Christmann nabbed the top spot in the women's category (Image: Getty Images for Ironman)

The miserable weather didn’t appear to dampen people’s spirits as they were cheering, clapping and using noise makers to show their support, wrapped up warm in raincoats and with umbrellas on hand.

Jamie Morris and Tina Jones were down by the finish line cheering on the approaching athletes.

They said: “They need all the support possible and it’s a nice Weymouth welcome and a really big sporting event for the town to cheer people on.”

Tina Jones and Jamie Morris were cheering athletes on (Image: Hollie Carr)

The race consisted of a 56-mile cycle and a 13.1-mile run which ended at Weymouth Pavilion.

Ironman 70.3 will return to the seaside town next year.