MORE than 300 competitors took part in Sunday’s annual Dartford & White Oak sprint triathlon where they tackled a 400m swim, 26km bike ride and a 7km run.

The use of individual timing chips for the first time meant racers could get their race time and splits as soon as they finished with organisers and competitors were able to track leading athletes in real time.

Ian White from Farnham Tri was first home in 1hr15m52s, followed by last year’s winner Neil Harris less than 30 seconds behind.

Female athletes made up more than 25 percent of the field for the first time and the first lady home was Claire Hitchings of Sevenoaks Tri in just over 1hr27m, followed by Susan Fairfax from Crystal Palace Tri club.

Crystal Palace Tri club took the event by storm with more than 30 entrants as the event was being used for their club championship race.

It was won by Jonathon Horsman, who finished less than three minutes behind the overall race winner.

Special mention must go to Helen James and Maureen Farish of Bromley Veterans club, who proved once again age is no barrier to finishing a triathlon.

Meanwhile, nine members of Dartford & White Oak TC successfully completed the ultimate one-day sporting challenge this week in two different countries.

Despite blistering temperatures on the continent, Nick McGrath, Michael Larrington, Paul Fisher, Mark Fincher, Carrie Hague, Steven Clarke, Steven Neale and Andy Horton all completed Ironman Austria.

Elsewhere, James Peet and Cedric Henaux stormed their way around Ironman distance races in Germany.

Peet seems to have rediscovered the form which took him to the world championships in Hawaii two years ago, completing the 2.5 mile swim, 112 mile cycle and 26.2 mile run in just over 9hr16m.

Given most competitors will finish between 11 and 16 hours, while elite professionals expect to take around eight hours, it shows the fantastic form Peet has managed to achieve by juggling his training with a full time job.