Hundreds of athletes came together Sunday for the 2023 New York City Triathlon produced by Life Time.

“Life Times has two goals. One is to create memorable experiences and the other part of it is to create safe and healthy events. And moving it to the fall achieves that,” says Nicole Bostick, associate marketing director with Life Time.

This year, for the first time in 22 years, the event was pushed back to avoid high temperatures.

Meanwhile last year, the hot humid weather forced organizers to shorten the biking and running portions of the race to keep athletes safe.

Hot weather was not an issue Sunday, but the race was modified once again this year.

After Friday’s storms, water quality concerns in the Hudson River forced organizers to cancel the 1500m swim portion.

“Unfortunately, it's really disappointing. It’s happened here before, so I was kind of prepared for it with the rain recently,” said Carlos Rios after completing the race that was reformatted into a duathalon. “But, you know, everyone here is having a good time. So of course I want to do all three. But it was fun. I did the best I could, and that’s all that matters.”

Instead of diving into the river to start the race, participants started off running, then continued on to the 40k bike ride on the West Side Highway, and ended with the 10k run through Central Park.

Matthew Sharpe, of Boulder, Colorado, was the first to cross the finish line in Central Park.

The 32-year-old has been running triathlons since he was 10 years old.

“With triathlon, you’re never going to be the best at swimming, biking or running. So there’s always something to work on, always something to improve. Like I said, sport for 20 years and I’m still trying to get better. So, you know, it’s an incredible challenge,” said Sharpe after receiving his first place award.

According to organizers, 1,800 people were registered for the event.

Many were looking forward to completing all three portions of the race, but organizers and racers agree safety is a priority.

“We have to consider the safety and health of the athletes and the lifeguards and the first responders and volunteers and staff,” says Bostick.

“Safety is always important. Sometimes us as athletes, we go pretty hard, but super important to remember to like, take care of yourself,” said Joseph Lach, of Brooklyn, after completing the race.