THE Weymouth Ironman scheduled to take place in September was cancelled last week in a decision councillors think was 'prudent'.

Organisers of what would have been the fifth annual Weymouth Ironman competition came to the decision to cancel it after discussions with Weymouth Town Council and Dorset Council where it was decided that the health and safety concerns caused by coronavirus posed too much of a risk to allow the event to go ahead.

Mayor of Weymouth, Councillor Graham Winter, said: "I think cancelling the event is a good, sensible idea. The pandemic situation is so uncertain so I think it was a prudent decision on the organisers to cancel it.

"I think there is going to be some disappointment all round but hopefully we can have a great event next year."

Cllr Winter and his wife handed out medals at last year's Weymouth Ironman event. Cllr Winter said: "It was fantastic last year to hand out the medals and to see the different age groups of participants. It was great to see so many people putting themselves out there and having a go and a wonderful event. There will definitely be some disappointment that it won't be on this year but next year can be better than ever."

Cllr Michael Frost added: "I think that on public safety issues it is the right decision to cancel. The public reaction I have heard so far is that people have been pleased it has been cancelled so it was a good decision."

The cost of cancelling the event is not yet known but organisers have said they are more concerned about the safety of the athletes than lost revenue. A spokesman for Ironman said: "Fundamentally our priority is our participants and their safety so we are not concentrating on the costs.

"While we are prevented from holding the event in 2020, we are looking forward to providing athletes with an exceptional race experience at Ironman 70.3 Weymouth in 2021."