Sports minister Zane DeSilva has passed on his congratulations to triathletes Tyler Butterfield and Karen Smith following their performances at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Butterfield finished seventh overall and Smith was 15th in the women’s 45-49 age group over the weekend.

Mr DeSilva said in a statement: “I am extremely pleased to celebrate the success of Tyler and Karen. They are an inspiration to people of all ages and show that, with hard work and dedication, athletic excellence can be enjoyed for many years.

“I hope that their fantastic results will inspire our youth to follow in their footsteps.”