David's on Saturday for the sixth annual Gibbons Company Ironkids Triathlon.

And the large crowd was treated to a morning of excitement as, first, the 115 seven to 10-year-old boys and girls tackled a 100 metres swim, 21 mile cycle and 1 mile run course. And then the older entrants (11 to 14) embarked on a course twice that distance.

Not even the choppy water conditions could dampen the youngsters' enthusiasm.

The action was fast and furious in the transition area where continual cheers greeted the children as they exited the water to take to their bikes, which came in all shapes and sizes.

Competitors entered the water at five second intervals as a safety precaution, meaning that the final positions were not known until post-race calculations had been completed.

However, 10-year-old Fraser Hunt left little doubt as to his prowess as, despite a 50 second deficit at the start, he was able to quickly reduce the margin between himself and the early starters.

By the end of the cycle, Hunt had taken command and cruised to victory in a time of 13 minutes, 56 seconds, beating second place Paul Murphy by over two minutes. Murphy clocked 16:35, while Andrew Kirkpatrick's 16:43 was good for for third place.

Hunt's emphatic victory was not repeated in the corresponding girls' race as Akhila Mills edged Emma Rego by just one second to record the fastest time of the day among the females.

An impressive performance by Erica Frith (16:53) saw her claim the nine-year-old title ahead of Jessica Frith (19:55) and Katie Shaw (20:09).

Similarly, Courtney Cotterhill was tops among the eight-year-olds, while Tamera Olden (20:32) succeeded in her quest for the seven-year-old category.

Andrew Boyce (15:59) displayed great expertise in the three discipline sport as he ran off with the eight-year-old boys' title as did Darryl Steynor (16:56) and Adam Petty (17:12) among the nine and seven year-olds respectively.

As the seven to 10-year-olds savoured the atmosphere following their race, the 11 to 14-year-olds took to the waters of Clearwater Beach looking to cover double the distance of their younger counterparts.

On paper the 14-year-old boys' title appeared to be a toss-up between last year's 13-year-old winner Kris Hedges, national age group team swimmer Craig Ferguson and Duncan Simons, who recently placed first among the juniors in the Heritage Day Cycle Classic.

Not surprisingly it was Ferguson who emerged from the water first with Hedges and Simons hot on his heels. Ferguson held the lead through the bike ride, but a slow changeover allowed the swifter Hedges to leave the transition area on equal terms entering the run.

A more noted runner, Hedges quickly seized the lead, one he would never relinquish, as he won in a time of 24:17.

Simons, on the tails of a strong bike ride, was also able to reel in Ferguson to wind up second in 25:27, with Ferguson next at 25:55.

Other boys winners were Khomeni Talbot (26:23) in the boys 13 category, Nuri Latham (25:14, 12-year-old boys) and Tyler Butterfield (26:03, 11-year-old boys).

Among the girls Kim Burgess (38:58) took the 14-year-old championship, Laura Farge (28:12) the 13-year-old category, Elisha Miller (17:23) the 12-year-old title and Jessica Sousa (30:47) rounded out the list with a triumph among the 11-year-olds.

However, while the victors grabbed a fair share of the applause, everyone who completed the course was declared a winner.

Said organiser Greg Hopkins: "The smiles and looks of satisfaction on the young faces of all the finishers clearly showed the onlookers that the prize winners were only part of the story. On this day everyone was a winner.'' FRASER HUNT -- fastest among the seven to 10-year-old boys.

MOMENT BEFORE THE PLUNGE -- Stephanie Outerbridge, 10, reflects on her upcoming swim during Saturday's Ironkids Triathlon.

ON THE RUN -- Robyn Dickinson (56) sprints past a weary Brandin Martinez (12) on her way to a fourth place finish in the nine-year-old girls' category.

HEADING FOR HOME -- Jeremy Shrubb (80) checks out the opposition, Tiffany Thorne (66) and Adam Petty (107), although all three were competing in separate divisions of Saturday's Ironkids Triathlon.