Richard Hobson, Barb Hill score top 10 division finishes at Ironman 70.3 Western Sydney

Hobson's final time of four hours, 34 minutes and 28 seconds was the best of the seven Bathurst finishers at the Penrith half Ironman event, placing him fourth in the 50-54 men's division and 59^th overall.

But after several years of disrupted and cancelled events the time was a secondary thing for Hobson.

The Western Sydney event made its return after a three-year absence, a break brought on by COVID-19, and the Bathurst triathlete said it was great to get back to the Sydney International Regatta Centre and its surrounds.

"It was a great day. It was probably one of the fairest races I've been involved with too, with no drafting on the bike, and I think everyone just enjoyed the fact that we could race," he said.

"That enjoyment factor seemed to be the running theme of the day. The crowds were huge. I've never seen crowds that huge at Western Sydney before.

"It was just an age group race on Sunday, with no pro racing, and I think that made the dynamic a little lower key, more like an enjoyable family day. The new course also helped in that it led to a lot of spectating around the run course."

A couple of technical mishaps made for a different triathlon experience for Hobson.

"I was in the mix all day for a podium," he said.

"There were a couple of silly things that went wrong for me. The power meter on my bike didn't work because I forgot to charge it, and I left my watch at home so I didn't know what pace I was running.

"It was a bit of guesswork in the bike and the run but that was okay. I managed to do it by feel."

Barb Hill was another standout performer from Bathurst, finishing her first half Ironman attempt in a time of 6:12:37 to be eighth in the women's 45-49 division.

Jamie Rivett made a massive improvement on his Port Macquarie half Ironman result earlier this year to almost break the five hour barrier, finishing in 5:00:47 to be 23rd in the men's 45-49 years category.

Gavin Borg was also quicker than his Port effort, coming across the line in 5:16:23 to finish inside the men's 35-39 years division's top 50.

Hill's partner, Stephen Page, finished right alongside her in a time of 6:12:34 (42nd in men's 50-54).

Nick Hosking (5:32:09, 70th in men's 30-34) and Tim Miller (5:38:19, 78th in men's 30-34) completed a strong representation for Bathurst athletes at the event.

Stephen Jackson also took part in the event but failed to finish after crashing on the bike leg, though he was able to come away without sustaining any severe injuries.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: