Dr Richard Callow and Nigel Quaye represented the Isle of Man in the 2024 Ironman World Championship which was held in Hawaii last weekend.
The island duo both flew the flag in the men’s 40-44 age category and competed with distinction against a world-class field in the west coast town of Kona on the Pacific island.
The ironman event consists of a 2.4-mile open-water swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a run of 26.2 miles.
It proved to be an eventful day for both Isle of Man triathletes, with a shark being spotted in the bay during the swimming element of the event. Thankfully though, a pod of dolphins arrived and positioned themselves between the shark and the swimmers.
Quaye was fastest in the opening swimming discipline, emerging from the water in a time of one hour one minute and fives seconds, while Callow clocked in at 1:17.07.
Unfortunately for Callow, he surrendered a chunk of time when he lost his goggles mid-swim and therefore had to tread water for a while to wait for crews to fetch an new pair.
It was role reversal in the gruelling cycling section, with Callow completing the 112 miles in 5hr 0m 43s and Quaye doing so in 5:24.54.
Competitors had to leave their bikes at the cycling start point the night before the race but Callow arrived to find he had a flat tyre and therefore an urgent change was required.
In the marathon-distance run Callow clocked a time of 3:45.17, while Quaye completed it in 4:38.21.
This was enough to secure them 161st and 242nd respectively in their age category, plus 824th and 1362nd overall out of a field of more than 2,300 competitors.
Quaye was joined in Hawaii by his wife Nicola, parents and children Bella and Austin, with the latter pair taking part in the children’s ironman event too.
Speaking after what he confirmed was his retirement race, Quaye commented on social media: ‘Kona was one hell of a race - the toughest I’ve ever done. I struggled massively towards the end of the bike and run with the heat and humidity.
‘I struggled to bring the heartrate back down and had to resort to walking. I probably wasn’t quite as prepared for the heat and humidity as I’d hoped. But on a positive note, I’ve always wanted to finish an ironman in the dark.
‘To my family, especially Nicola Quaye, you’ve been an incredible part of this journey and I know 100 percent I wouldn’t have made it here without you. It was definitely a team effort.
‘This was my retirement race, and I’m so grateful to have qualified and made it to the finish. Thanks again everyone for being there every step of the way!’
Richard added: ‘As a triathlete, getting to race on the famous Kona Ironman course was a dream come true.
‘The course was tough, with jellyfish on the swim, winds on the bike and heat on the run, but it was a fantastic experience after years of hard work to get there.’