ESSIE and Sammie Amery, two sisters originally from Newton Abbot, recently competed in the Ironman World Championships.

Last year was the first occasion when the men's and women’s events were separate, one taking place in Nice, France whilst the other was in Kona, Hawaii. This time around, it was the turn of the women to venture to the south of France and the Amery duo were both competing.

They grew up in Devon but they currently live in sunny Spain- Valencia to be specific- and got their first taste of an Ironman in Barcelona last year.

This was a first World Championship experience for Essie and Sammie though, the former coming in at under 11 hours and sixth in her age category, with Sammie not far behind at all.

It all began with a 3.8km swim, next up was a whopping 180km on the bike and then if that wasn’t enough, the siblings had to finish off with a full marathon. An Ironman is certainly a huge physical test and so to cross the finish line is one thing, and to both finish more than 20 minutes under their predicted times is another.

Fellow Brit Lucy Charles-Barclay set the women’s record last year, completing the Ironman in under eight and a half hours, and Essie and Sammie were delighted to speak to her prior to the race. She herself wasn’t competing but Lucy gave them advice, wished them well and was generally very friendly.

This served as a little boost as if they needed any further motivation on a very competitive occasion.

Essie and Sammie are GB AG (Age Group) triathletes so they’re no strangers to the elite level and they also haven’t strayed too far from their roots. Training in Devon and cycling in and around Dartmoor served as great preparation for the duo, helping massively when it came to the big ascents in France.

The pair have an Instagram page @Triathlon_sisters where you can follow their progress, writing in their latest posts about “A wave of relief and elation” and that “Crossing the World Championship finish line was an emotional whirlwind.”