Some 300 triathletes turned out to brave the open water of the New Forest and take part in the HOWSC triathlon.

The sold-out event attracted a wide and varied field to the New Forest Water Park as local organisers Try Tri Events staged three different distances on the same sunny morning.

For the novices there was a 400m swim, an 11km bike and a 2.5km run, a sprint distance race of a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run, while there was also a standard distance comprising a 1,500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run, with the cycle segments taking in the roads around Fordingbridge.

The standard race was won by Ieuan Hudson whose time of 2.20.12 nudged Craig Patterson into second place by just over a minute, with Carlo Nebuloni completing the men’s podium places.

However, the most impressive performance was from the female winner, Stephanie Mottram, who came third overall in 2.22.05.

Mottram was, somewhat unsurprisingly given her time, a convincing winner, but there was a thrilling battle for second and third between Samantha Lee and Patricia Goggin with just 12 seconds giving the former the nod despite a brilliant run from the latter.

It was also tight at the top of the sprint race as James Buckley ran down Gareth Sylvester-Bradley to steal first place by just five seconds in a time of 1.09.17.

Third place went to Andrew Cackett in 1.10.59 which included the fastest swim split of 11.11.

Victoria Waight was the clear winner of the women’s division in 1.16.42. There was another close battle for second and third with Catherine Phillips producing a blistering run to close down Helen Wainwright.

However, it wasn’t quite enough as she finished eight seconds back.

If that was close, though, then the second and third place males in the novice category were closer still.

Matt Biglin held off the charge of Ian Clarke, but only just as the official times split them by less than a second. Lee Potter was the winner in 46.18.

Danielle Grant was dominant in female section, taking victory in 50.21, with Alison Ronthie and Vicky Cross occupying the other podium places.

The event, which was backed by local coaching company Savage Sports, was hailed a success and is one of the last of the season in the area.

Top fives: Standard – male 1 Ieuan Hudson 2.20.12, 2 Craig Patterson 2.21.22, 3 Carlo Nebuloni 2.23.17, 4 Noel Charlton 2.28.05, 5 Toby Wallis 2.30.10 Standard – female 1 Stephanie Mottram 2.22.05, 2 Samantha Lee 2.35.09, 3 Patricia Goggin 2.35.41, 4 Melissa Panter 2.45.42, 5 Rachael Melhuish 2.45.52 Sprint – male 1 James Buckley 1.09.17, 2 Gareth Sylvester-Bradley 1.09.22, 3 Andrew Cackett 1.10.59, 4 Clive Lett 1.14.08, 5 Phil Mant 1.16.31 Sprint – female 1 Victoria Waight 1.16.42, 2 Helen Wainwright 1.18.46, 3 Catherine Phillips 1.18.54, 4 Serena O’Connor 1.19.45, 5 Sarah Sims 1.20.33 Novice – male 1 Lee Potter 46.18, 2 Matt Biglin 46.54.00, 3 Ian Clarke 46.54.60, 4 Darren Bull 47.48, 5 Andrew Gordon 48.57 Novice – female 1 Danielle Grant 50.21, 2 Alison Ronthie 51.40, 3 Vicky Cross 52.46, 4 Elizabeth Longworth 55.34, 5 Kate Lakeman-Brown 56.26