Button and Smith star in London Triathlon

The world’s largest triathlon was held in London last weekend, with F1 leader Jenson Button and 125cc world championship rider Bradley Smith both putting in stunning performances.

Button was the standout: can this man do no wrong in 2009? He’s not only leading the F1 title from Australia’s Mark Webber, but he’s also snagged lingerie model Jessica Michibata as a girlfriend (see attached photo), and now’s he’s set a personal best in the London Triathlon.

Covering the full Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike and 19km run), Button set a remarkable time of 2:07:02 to place second in the 25-29yrs men’s division, and only 20 minutes off the winning time set in the elite division.

Australia’s Courtney Atkinson was second in the elite field, setting a time of 1:44.48.

Meanwhile, Smith, currently running third in the world 125cc title, recorded a time of 2:13:36.

The course spanned some of the city’s most renowned landmarks including the London Eye, Big Ben and Tower Bridge.

“I had to wake up at 4.00am to get here this morning and I loved it – it has been my best ever Sunday morning,” said Button.  “I enjoyed it today, it’s such an amazing event, it’s so big and it’s great that triathlon is doing so well in the UK.  I hope that its growth continues.

“Our performances (including Smith) demonstrate that we do have to train hard to be an F1 driver or a MotoGP rider, and that when we aren’t racing we aren’t just at home sitting around and that we do have to be very fit in order to race at our level.”

I reckon the only thing that will bring Button back down to earth is to compete in Mark Webber's epic Tasmania Challenge. Just watch out for errant vehicles...