Triathlon: Berkel, Lawn clean up (pictures)

Fine weather greeted about 2000 competitors last Saturday as they took to the waters for the Ironman 70.3 Busselton.

Among the competitors was a strong contingent of 49 local athletes who took part as individuals.

Check out our pix

Vince Middleton was the first local to cross the finish line, finishing the event in 55th position with a time of 04:27:57hr, followed by Christopher Quin who completed the event in 04:40:37hr.

Veteran competitor Katie Greenfield retained her position as fastest local female to finish with a time of 05:10:36hr, beating her 2010 time by seven minutes.

Member for Vasse Troy Buswell also got involved in the action on the weekend, tackling the run leg in 02:19:02hr to finish the race for his team Super Team.

In the competitive men’s professional division, 2010 third-place finisher Tim Berkel came back in strong form to cross the line in first place.

The NSW competitor posted the fastest run time to finish the course in 03:51:28hr, about 90 seconds faster than second placed Matty White and Tim Reed, rounding out the top three with a time of 03:53:00hr.

In the professional women’s competition, last year’s Ironman WA winner Kate Bevilaqua had to pull out of the race due to an injury, leaving the path clear for New Zealander Jo Lawn to win with a time of 04:13:24hr.

Felicity Sheedy-Ryan and Rebekah Keat crossed the line shortly after with a time of 04:15:21hr and 04:15:56hr respectively.