In a race marred by injuries to two competitors who got caught in crossfire gunshots, Bermuda’s Mark Wilcox and Martina Olcheski-Bell produced strong performances at the Ironman 70.3 in Puerto Rico last weekend.

Despite struggling with a running injury, Wilcox finished second in the 45-49 age group for an overall time of 4hr 44min 47sec.

Olcheski-Bell came ninth in the 30-34 age group with overall time of 5:22:42.

Professional triathletes Sarah Haskins, of the United States, and Igor Amorelli, of Brazil, were the overall winners.

The two competitors injured were wounded in a gunfire exchange between occupants of two cars as they sped past the cycling part of last Sunday’s event in an upscale area of San Juan.

Puerto Rico police identified the wounded competitors as Wisconsin woman Liz Boivin, 26, and Island resident Miguel Arroyo Ramos, 49. Boivin was hit in the left calf while three bullets struck Arroyo in the left side while they raced on bicycles through the San Juan district of Miramar.

Meanwhile, Alex and Nick Pilgrim and Lyndsey Palmer also raced last weekend in the Sarasota Florida F1 Youth Sprint Series Race.

Competing in her first major overseas competition and her first draft legal race, Palmer came fourteenth out of 35 starters.

She finished the 375 metres swim, 6.4km bike and 2.5km run in an overall time of 31:04. The girls’ race was won by Addison Smith, of the US, in 27:58.

Alex Pilgrim finished in 27:33 to take tenth out of a field of 38 starters while sibling Nick came 26th in 30:34.

The boys’ race was won by Luis Ortiz of the USA in 26 min 24 secs.