Competitors brave the heat as crowds turn out for Ironman

THOUSANDS of athletes took part in one of Swansea's biggest sporting events on Wales' hottest weekend of the year.

- ELLIE GOSLEY

Ironman 70.3, a gruelling endurance event which sees participants swim, cycle and run for more than 70 miles, returned to the city yesterday.

More than 2,500 people took part in the event alongside the professionals. It is the first time the city has hosted an Ironman Pro Series Event where some of the world's best professional triathlete race for a piece of the $50,000 prize purse.

The day began with a 1.2-mile swim through Swansea Bay starting at the Prince of Wales Dock. Once out of the water athletes headed out onto the 56-mile bike course that passes through the seaside village of Mumbles along roads that hug the Gower's coastal clifftops before cycling out through the rural Welsh countryside and heading back into the city.