Tyler Butterfield was back in action yesterday for the first time since his Ironman disappointment, finishing ninth at the Noosa Triathlon in Australia.

The 31-year-old had built his year around the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, determined to improve on his superb seventh-place finish in 2013.

However, he was forced to withdraw from the gruelling race, which features a 2.4-miles swim, a 112-miles bike and a marathon, with back problems during the bike stage. Twenty-eight days later and the Island’s top male triathlete was at the start line again, however, having decamped Down Under with Nikki, his Australian wife, and family.

In a quality elite field, Butterfield completed the course in 1hr 51min 6sec. Aaron Royle, of Australia, won the men’s race after a sprint finish to cross the line 3:07 ahead of the Bermudian, while Ashleigh Gentle won the elite female category in 1:59:10.