Marino Vanhoenacker, previous holder of the world record for the Ironman triathlon, broke the previous course record of 4:11 at the Mercuryman triathlon festival on Sunday, 22 January with a time of 4:01:48.

80 triathletes gathered at the Wyndham Reef Resort to take part in the 5th anniversary of the Mercuryman triathlon festival. Of those triathletes, 12 were overseas athletes which included four professionals, including Mr Vanhoenacker.

“It was great to have my first win of 2017 at the Mercuryman triathlon with a new course record,” Mr Vanhoenacker said. “Cayman was everything I expected and more.”

Alyssa Godesky, Kim Schwabenbauer and Caroline Gregory were the other participating professional athletes. Ms Godesky took home first in the professional female category, with Ms Schwabenbauer following her in second.

“If you’re looking for a January escape, put the Mercuryman triathlon on your list,” Ms Godesky said. “I had so much fun racing with the other triathletes and the Caymanians are second to none. It was a great way to kick off the year!”

Nikki Christian and Scott Ruby of Nikki’s Voice also participated and crossed the finish line to complete their first half-iron distance triathlon together. The group originally started with the goal of making Ms Christian Cayman’s first assisted marathoner. Since then, Mr Ruby and Ms Christian have participated in many races together.

“We are thankful for the opportunity to continue spreading our message of inclusion,” Mr Ruby said. “Nikki and I hope when we are seen racing it makes one realize that limitations are self-imposed.”

Top three male and female age groupers for the half-iron distance were Luke Ehgoetz, Jeff Jakubiak and Jamie Hughes for the men and Nadine Gray, Rebecca Wall, and Sarah Superfine for the women. Winning teams were ‘Not Today Bobo’ for male team and ‘2 Queens and a Princess’ for female team.

Full results for all events can be found on mercurymantri.com.