A British triathlon classic ends on Sunday
For the 12th and final time, athletes will start their 1.9km swim in Wimbleball Lake on Sunday for the final edition of IRONMAN 70.3 UK, Exmoor.
As we reported earlier in the year, the event will be removed from the UK schedule of IRONMAN events moving forward, primarily because of logistical challenges:
“IRONMAN 70.3 UK Exmoor has been an integral part of the development of IRONMAN over the last decade. Athletes have loved its unique event setting, however its remote location has brought about recent logistical challenges. We have therefore made the decision to make 2017 the last year to stage and celebrate this historic IRONMAN 70.3 UK event. We encourage and welcome everyone who wants to be part of its history to join us in Wimbleball on 25th June.”
With IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire last weekend (report), the new IRONMAN 70.3 Edinburgh the following week (course guide), and then IRONMAN UK two weeks after that, it is certainly a busy period for the UK-based IRONMAN team.
The race has earned a reputation as one of the toughest on the circuit, with inaugural winner in 2006, Chris McCormack, saying “The course doesn’t let you get into a rhythm. There are lots of hills – 52 in 56 miles – but they are all different.”
The end of the race also sees a small piece of history depart. The first official ‘IRONMAN 70.3’ race was held in 2005 at Longleat House (previous editions of the race in Llanberis -2001/2, and Sherborne – 2003/4), were known, as they were everywhere else, as ‘Half Ironman’.
With the event being an ‘age-group only’ field for the last two editions (and for this Sunday), that means that from the archive list of winners (below), Scotland’s Fraser Cartmell and Ireland’s Eimear Mullan will forever stand alone as the only three-time winners of the race, with two wins each for Philip Graves, Cat Morrison and Bella Bayliss.
Ironman 70.3 UK Winners
| Year | Location | Men | Women |
| 2016 | Wimbleball Lake | Andy Greenleaf (AG Race) | Stephanie Knott (AG Race) |
| 2015 | Wimbleball Lake | Brennan Townshend (AG Race) | Natalie Seymour (AG Race) |
| 2014 | Wimbleball Lake | Will Clarke | Eimear Mullan |
| 2013 | Wimbleball Lake | Ritchie Nicholls | Eimear Mullan |
| 2012 | Wimbleball Lake | Philip Graves | Eimear Mullan |
| 2011 | Wimbleball Lake | Mikel Elgezabal | Emma-Kate Lidbury |
| 2010 | Wimbleball Lake | Fraser Cartmell | Bella Bayliss |
| 2009 | Wimbleball Lake | Philip Graves | Catriona Morrison |
| 2008 | Wimbleball Lake | Fraser Cartmell | Bella Comerford |
| 2007 | Wimbleball Lake | Fraser Cartmell | Julie Dibens |
| 2006 | Wimbleball Lake | Chris McCormack | Catriona Morrison |
| 2005 | Longleat House | Paul Matthews | Nina Eggert |
TRI247 VIDEO ARCHIVE!
The Tri247 team have been at the race many times over the years, so now seems a good time to dig out some of our historic “mega montage” videos. Click on the links below to look back on history – and perhaps even find yourself captured on film!
- 2014 Mega Montage
- 2012 Mega Montage (no music…)
- 2009 Mega Montage
- 2008 Mega Monatge
- 2007 Mega Montage
