A distinct international flavour to the Ironman 70.3 Marbella

Nicolas Mann from Germany (3 hours 56 minutes and 25 seconds) won the fifth edition of the Ironman 70.3 Marbella, which brought together more than 1,500 athletes with a distinctly international flavour on Sunday.

Levante beach in Puerto Banús at 7.40am was the starting point for the challenge which comprised 1,900 metres of swimming, 90 kilometres of cycling and 21 kilometres of running.

Of those registered to compete, just 32 per cent were Spanish. The rest came from other countries, including the United Kingdom, with a large representation of 18 per cent, Belgium (6.5 per cent) and France (5.6 per cent). There were also representatives from Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States and Italy.

Behind Mann was Niek Heldoorn, from the Netherlands, with 3h.58:03, and Spaniard Jordi Montraveta, who managed to complete the race in 3h.59:16.

In the women's category, the best was Nikki Bartlett, from the UK, with a time of 4h.27:18. She was joined on the podium by the Estonian, Kaidi Kivioja, in second place with a time of 4h.34:02, and Daniela Kleiser, from Germany, in third place with 4h.35:17.