Top athletes ready to roar

As competitors geared up for this weekend's SunSmart Ironman WA in Busselton, the top contenders and notable athletes gathered at Busselton café, The Goose, to talk about the challenges ahead of the event.

French competitor Romain Guillaume has been busy preparing for the event in Bunbury for the past five weeks and said the region was very different form France.

"It was nice, the weather was perfect," he said. "It was good for me to train for four weeks there."

For fellow competitor Joe Gambles, who competed alongside Guillaume in his debut ironman event which he also won, it was his first time visiting WA.

Gambles said he'd read "great things" about the Busselton course and added he forward to the event.

"I'm looking forward to see what I can pull out on Sunday," he said.

More than 500 competitors will make their debut at Sunday's event, with more than 1900 people set to complete the 3.8km swim, 180.25km bike ride and 42.2km run.

Among those debuting is former Hockeyroo Fiona Crawley.

Tourism minister Liza Harvey said more than 60 professional athletes would compete in the triathlon this weekend, with the number of professional female entrants almost doubling on last year.

"This is a fantastic result for WA, and testament to the high-quality event that is staged in Busselton each year," she said.

"The course highlights some of the most stunning scenery that Busselton has to offer and will provide fantastic exposure for the South-West region."

Competitor Jason Shortis will take part in his final Ironman event this weekend, where he hopes to take out a win ahead of retirement.

The 44-year-old competitor has taken part in a staggering 83 events and also currently holds the course record in Busselton.

Shortis said it felt like the right time to finish and added anyone who got to decide when to retire in professional sport was very lucky.

The SunSmart Ironman WA event in Busselton kicks off on Sunday morning.

Click here to go mobile with iNFOGO - local everywhere