VIDEO and PICTURES: Competitors take on rainy Ironman 70.3 challenge in Staffordshire

South African Matt Trautmann said after his comfortable victory which brought him the lion's share of the $25,000 prize pool: "I enjoyed the weather. The rain was good."

Brave Brit Harry Wiltshire won the hearts of the fans with an astonishing finish to grab second place in the final strides of the half marathon that concluded the event.

Then he confessed: "I was worried about my running. I had not done well in the past couple of races."

Fellow Brit Lucy Gossage shrugged off an injury ravaged few months to romp to victory in the women's race for the second year running - despite falling off her bike.

She was close top tears as she crossed the line in front of Shugborough Hall and declared: "It was tougher this year because I crashed my bike and had to work really hard for the win. It's great to be fit again."

Highlights on Twitter - scroll down to read more:

Around 2,000 competitors took part in the race that started with a one and a half mile swim at Chasewater, followed by a 56 mile bike ride through the Staffordshire countryside before the 13.1 mile half marathon finale.

Crowds started gathering at Chasewater at 6am, an hour before the start.

Wave after wave of competitors - split into groups by age and ability - poured into the water, tearing off their wetsuit as they emerged from the swim to leap onto their bike.

The leaders were welcomed by a torrential downpour when they reached the final leg around the Shugborough estate but delighted Matt, Harry and Lucy were soon singing in the rain after outstanding performances.

Among thosew taking part was footballer Danny Mills. Last year celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana took part but he is competing this time after rupturing his Achilles tendon.

However, he took to Facebook to tell fans that he would still be attending to cheer on the competitors.