HUNDREDS of athletes from all over the country descended on Ayrshire last weekend.

Over 160 individuals and 13 teams travelled to Irvine for the return of Ayrodynamics’ Irvine Open water Sprint Triathlon event.

The event, organised by the Ayrshire based triathlon club, was based in the Shewalton area of Irvine, and saw competitors take part in a 750m open water swim round Bookers pond and a 20km cycle before finishing off with a 5km run through Shewalton woods.

And there were certainly some impressive performances throughout the event.

Jason Bell was home first in the men’s race, producing a perfectly well-rounded race across all three disciplines to take the win in 1:06:41.

He was just ahead of Paul McGonigle, who crossed the finish line in 1:06:53 while Andy Turnbull claimed third in 1:07:24.

In the women’s race, Ayrodynamics’ own Hannah Terrance and Bethany Ross were first and third, finishing in 1:13:43 and 1:17:24.

Hannah was in fine form on the day and, after gaining a healthy lead out of the water, had enough on the bike and run to keep the lead until the end. 

Shona Girdwood was the next best athlete, taking second place in 1:16:21

Fellow club member Neve Hands also won the Junior category with a fantastic time of 01:26:03.

Also representing the host club were, Scott Marshall, Colin Hedley, Jennifer McCann and Mark Davenport all having strong races.

And speaking after the event, the club were delighted with a successful days competition.

A spokesperson said: "A massive thank you to all participants and all members who helped out on the day to make the event a success."

For more on the event, a full gallery of photos has been provided by Kenny Girvan, and can be found at: kennygirvan.pixieset.com/shewaltontriathlon2023.