Norwegians Allan Hovda and Mette Petterson were crowned King and Queen of the 2018 Norseman Xtreme Triathlon. There were a few others who had hoped to grab the wins here or at the very least grab a podium spot, but for most of the athletes from 35 different nations it was all about this challenging course and the coveted black t-shirts.

The water temperature was a relatively mild 17 degrees Celsius (62.6 F), something that was likely well appreciated by the athletes in the race.

Earlier in the morning still tired athletes were quickly wide awake when they launched themselves from the boat that carried them to the swim start.

The field quickly spread out in these very serene waters.

The defending champion Lars Christian Vold from Norway came out of the water in 53:18, 4;18 behind swim leader Harry Wiltshire.

Estonian Heiko Sepp in action early on in the bike segment after a 1:09:58 swim.

Michael Achermann from Switzerland on his way to 19th place and a black t-shirt.

Some of the athletes can not hold back the joy of being part of this race, likely much to the photographer's dismay.

And the sky was very angry at times.

There were not many fans on the course, but those who were there made up for it with great enthusiasm.

Eventually the sun did come out and Norwegian Morgan Hovden stretched his back before getting to T2.

Norwegian Line Mari Langseth on the way to 4th place in the women's division.

And yes there are other obstacles you might encounter

Full throttle for Norwegian Kjell Magnus Antonsen who at the end grabbed second place.

2-time winner Allan Hovda looked great all day and pulled away during the run. The fans were fully supportive and Hovda clearly appreciated them.

No one was able to stop Hovda from grabbing his 3rd Norseman title and the Norwegian was thrilled. 10:05:48 was his winning time.

The last few steps to reach the magic top.

Mette Petterson Moe crushed the women's course record and finished the race in 11:16:10. That gave her 12th place overall.

Someone left it all out there on the course.

So close and yet so far away.

All images courtesy of NXTRI, by photographers Agurtxane Concellon, Lars-Erik Blenne Lien and Torgeir Storflor Moen