Florida's sun, sand and sea provided the perfect backdrop for triathlete Ian Osborne (pictured) when he raced at the World Half Ironman Championships.

Osborne, a member of the Oxford Tri Club, made light work of the 1.9km sea swim, 56-mile cycle and 13-mile run to finish in the top 20 in the 35-39 age group and top 100 overall in an impressive 4hrs 17mins.

The race, which took place in the Sunshine State's beach city of Clearwater, saw almost 2,000 competitors from across the world go head-to-head in hot and humid conditions.

Triathletes began racing shortly after sunrise, running across the white sands of Clearwater's beach into the Gulf of Mexico for the swim.

Osborne, a journalist and photographer who lives in Garsington, knew this part of the race would be the greatest challenge for him, but posted a respectable 30 minutes before attacking the bike course.

An established cyclist, he completed the 56-mile ride in 2hrs 12mins with a lightning-fast average speed of 25mph.

He said: "I didn't think the swim had gone that well, but was looking forward to taking it out hard and fast on the bike.

"The course was flat and we knew this would lead to some fast times.

"It felt good, I found my rhythm early on and my legs felt strong."

Leading up to the race, Osborne, 37, had set himself the challenging target of completing the race in under 4hrs 30mins, so after such a strong bike leg, knew he had a comfortable 1hr 45mins to finish the half marathon.

He knew he was racing well and looked likely to achieve his goal, but with temperatures nearing 30 degrees it was never going to be easy.

He said: "I struggled a bit in the first five miles because of the heat, but after that I felt better.

"At the eight to ten-mile stage, the fatigue of the whole day crept up on me and started to affect me so from there on I had to dig deep.

"The last few miles were hard, but I loved it, knowing that all the hard training was paying off."

With the 2006 triathlon season now closed, Osborne is enjoying a few weeks of off-season rest and relaxation before beginning winter training ahead of his 2007 campaign.

He added: "Going into this race, I had no real idea of where I would finish so I was over the moon with coming 19th in my age group. I'm now aiming for bigger and better things next season."

He is coached by Pete Dowling, who was pleased and proud of his athlete's performance and believes there is plenty more to come.