Kat Matthews and Max Stapley were both on the podium at IRONMAN 70.3 Bahrain as British triathletes continue to finish the season strong.

Lucy Buckingham exited the water in first place at IRONMAN 70.3 Bahrain with a 23 second advantage. She extended her lead on the bike but began dropping down the order on the run, with fellow Brit Matthews running her way through the field to take the win ahead of Australian Amelia Watkinson and German Caroline Pohle. Buckingham crossed the line in seventh with Kate Curran making it three British triathletes inside the top ten.  

In the men’s race, Max Stapley, Dan Dixon and Alistair Brownlee were amongst the leaders following the swim with just nine seconds covering the top eight. Brownlee dropped out in T1 while Dixon and Stapley were together heading onto the run with the pair comfortably inside the top ten. On the run Stapley pushed on and crossed the line in third place to earn a podium finish in his debut IRONMAN 70.3 race. Dixon, who dropped back on the run, finished in ninth with fellow Brit James Scott-Farrington finishing 13th.  

At Challenge Salinas, Jack Hutchens secured a top-ten finish with a good performance. He started the race strongly and was within touching distance of the podium places as he exited the water in fifth. He was just one of three triathletes to complete the bike section in less than 02:09:00 as he climbed up the standings. His chances of a podium slipped away on the run though as he dropped down the field and crossed the line in eighth. 

Images: Bahrain News Agency