After a five year hiatus the triathlon returned in 2017 and organiser Paul Humphreys said this year had a 25 per cent increase in competitors on last year.

“It went really well,” he said.

“We were really lucky after some very hot weather the past few days it was overcast and very pleasant.

“The water in the river was the best I’ve ever seen it. The rain really freshened it up.

“The competitors were really happy.”

The races incorporated the Hunter River, Morpeth township and surrounding farmland as well as nearby Duckenfield.

Athletes had the option to take part in the sprint (750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run), Olympic-level triathlon (1500m swim, 40km cycle, 10km run) or the gruelling longer distance (2km swim, 60km cycle, 15km run).

The day also incorporated a 10km fun run, which another 100 people took part in.

The longest distance was won by Laurent Doyen in a time of 3:15:14, which Mr Humphreys was very competitive particularly due to the fact athletes had the tide against them for the first half of the swim.

Commonwealth bronze medal-winning paratriathlete Lauren Parker was a recognisable name on the lineup, with her team winning the group division of the Olympic distance.

“She’s been racing all over the world for the past six months so it was nice to have her there,” Mr Humpreys said.

Vision-impaired athlete John Domandl took part in the longer distance while local legend Pete Hodgson finished second in the sprint.

In fact, Hodgson not only took part in the solo event, he also swam a team leg in the longer distance, meaning all up he swam 2.75km as well as rode and ran.

Fellow local Holly Khan took out the Olympic distance in a time of 2:16:26 and the sprint was won by Raea Khan in 1:11:43.

Simon White won the 10km run in 40:01, more than a minute and a half faster than Stephen Wong in second.

As well as the big names, Mr Humphreys said there were several competitors who took on the longer distance event for the first time and came away wrapped with their results.

Mr Humphreys said while the event was only small in the scheme of triathlons, he was happy with the participation numbers in what is a challenging sport.

“The big races, they’re really tough,” he said. “It’s not for everyone.

“But we were really happy with it.”

Mr Humphreys said he was hoping for the event to return again next year, and encouraged athletes to give it a go.

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