Clearwater Beach in St David’s is expected to be buzzing with excitement when it hosts the 36th annual Clarien Bank Iron Kids Triathlon this morning.

Almost 200 participants, aged 3 to 15, had registered for the event before close of registration at midnight. The 7-10 age group sets the ball rolling at 9.30am, followed by 11-15 at 10.30am, before the tiny tots finish things off an hour later.

While the competitors go off at the same time in the age group races, some are using triathlon racing bikes while others will be riding non-triathlon racing bikes.

In the boys 11-15 where Dylan Eiselt, the champion last year has aged out, his brother, Lukas, will go up against tough competition from Jens Drea, who was third last year, Ethan Smith, Jacob Leclerc, Spencer Haldeman and Ronan Davidge.

The same age group for girls promises to be an equally exciting contest. Naomi MacGuinness will be favourite to defend her title, with Colette Durkin, Riana Robinson, Evelyn Fahy and Elena Bortoli also in contention

Ahead of her last participation in the race before turning 15 later in the year, Robinson was optimistic about her chances.

“I’m expecting some tough competition on Saturday as there are always talented athletes at Iron Kids,” Robinson said.

“My aim is to do my best, race smart and enjoy my final Iron Kids event. Although my last race didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped, I still enjoyed the experience and learnt a lot from it.

“I would like to perform to the best of my ability, place well overall and improve my times in each discipline.

“I’ve been working hard in training and am looking forward to seeing that effort pay off while also enjoying the race and the competition.”