While professional athletes Steve McKenna and Kylie Simpson finished first in their respective divisions, they were not the only winners from Ironman Australia Port Macquarie on May 7.
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The much-publicised new-look bike course that took competitors west of Port Macquarie and out to Pembrooke, Redbank and Wauchope also received a glowing thumbs up.
"The feedback from those guys (athletes) is that they all enjoyed it," Ironman Oceania regional director Carl Smith said.
"The mix of the hinterland and rolling hills mixed in with the traditional coastal parts of Ocean Drive and Pacific Drive down to Lake Cathie... they loved the course.
"They were also extremely pleased with the amount of support out there, not just on the existing course on the southern section, but also out in Pembrooke, Redbank and Wauchope."
Smith said they were always looking to tweak and refine the course to future-proof the event.
"It's all about refining what we delivered this year with the new bike course," he said.
"We're always looking for new ways to add something unique to this amazing race and who knows, maybe there are more tweaks to the current course we can do to keep things fresh."
Race directors also confirmed before race day they had extended the partnership with Destinations NSW and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council to keep the event in the Hastings for a further five years.
"That contract will see us through until 2028 so it's a testament to the strong partnership we have with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and Destination NSW," Smith said.
"We're extremely excited to be delivering the event for another five years to add to this amazing history of this race."
Throughout the day there were minimal medical incidents reported on the course.
"We had a fairly quiet day on the medical front which is always great and I think the weather really helped that," Smith said.
"It did get a little bit cool and breezy throughout the evening session for some of the late-finishing athletes, but the weather played nice for the majority of the day.
"That always helps with keeping good control of needing help with any medical incidents."
Next year's event will take place on May 5.
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