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Tasmanian Olympian Jake Birtwhistle has won Tasmania's first IronMan event, amid mass road closures around Hobart that organisers insisted would not result in traffic chaos for motorists.
Key points:
- This year's event is the first of five IronMan Tasmania events to be held annually until at least 2027
- IronMan Tasmania's regional director Carl Smith said a year of planning would ensure disruptions to motorists are kept to a minimum
- Olympian Jake Birtwhistle took out the title of 2023 IronMan 70.3 Tasmania with a time of 3:49:20, while Ellie Salthouse won the women's division with a time of 4:25:07
Elite Ironwoman Ellie Salthouse won the women's division, finishing ahead of Grace Thek with a time of 4:25:07.
In the men's relay, Tassal — The Herd, took out first place, while in the mixed relay and women's relay, Team Carr and Why do I do it finished first, respectively.
Birtwhistle, one of 28 professional triathletes competing in the race, said he was thrilled to win the first IronMan in his home state.
"It was really cool to race here in Tassie," he said at the finish.
"I don't get the opportunity to do that often, and especially at an event at this level. It's really cool to be here in Tassie and to race like that, and to have all the support out there on the course was really special as well."
The 28-year-old is accustomed to the swim, cycle, run format but has never participated in a longer distance IronMan event.
Large parts of the CBD were closed to accommodate the more than 1,200 athletes participating in the event, while the Bowen Bridge was closed until midday.
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Parts of Bowen Road, Derwent Park Road and the Brooker Highway in Glenorchy were also shut down.
Organisers deployed 130 controllers and marshals to help manage the traffic, which was affected across four separate council areas.
IronMan Tasmania's regional director Carl Smith said a year of planning would ensure disruptions to motorists are kept to a minimum.
"It's taken a lot of consultation with the local community," he said.
"There's definitely some impact out there with the closures, but there are alternative routes available for people to move around and through the closures.
"We've got detours on both sides of the Derwent that people can use.
"We'll see what happens, and take on the debrief and make adjustments as we need to move forward."
This year's event is the first of five IronMan Tasmania events to be held annually until at least 2027.
Last month, an accident on Hobart's Tasman Bridge resulted in a traffic snarl that clogged large sections of southern Tasmanian roads, leaving thousands of motorists frustrated.
'It's a bit of a foreign concept'
Sunday's event was the first IronMan to be held in Tasmania.
Competitors started with a 1.9-kilometre swim from Brooke Street Pier to Castray Esplanade and back, before a 90-kilometre cycle from Salamanca that rook them through the northern suburbs, over the Bowen Bridge and to Otago Bay before returning to the Hobart waterfront.
For the half-marathon length run portion of the event, competitors made their way from the waterfront transition, back towards Moonah via the intercity cycleway before turning back and heading to the finish line at Princes Wharf.