Hundreds of competitors braced the early morning chill to take part in Weymouth's Ironman.

The ever-popular event, ran over 70.3 miles, began just after 7am with a 1.2 mile swim at Preston Beach, followed by a 56 mile cycle up to King's Stag and return before finishing with a 13.1 mile run.

In the men's race it was Ross Hosking who emerged from the swimming phase in the lead - some 19 seconds ahead of Ben Tolliday.

On the bikes, Hosking was quickly reeled in by Tolliday with Donald Brooks and Lewis Donovan in hot pursuit.

By the halfway of the cycle phase Brooks had opened up an advantage of in excess of a minute over the rest of the field.

Donovan closed the gap to nine seconds at the end of the cycle but a slow transition put him on the backfoot as he and Brooks prepared to battle it out on the run.

Brooks took full advantage of his faster transition and quickly opened up a sizeable gap on the road.

  • Top three in the men's race: Donald Brooks (4hours, 11minutes and 10seconds); Lewis Donovan (+01:22); Will Grace (+05:43).

In the women's race it was a different story with Natalie Lawrence in control from start to finish.

The Total Tri Training athlete came out of the water with a 13 second advantage and that gap only grew as the race progressed.

Behind Lawrence there was a fierce battle for podium spaces with Francesca Ryde, Amelia Hanley, Lucy Mapp, Mimi Carlton and Rachel Dumbrell all jostling for position during the race.

  • Top three in the women's race: Natalie Lawrence (4hours, 42minutes and 16seconds); Mimi Carlton (+08:45), Lucy Mapp (+09:31).