Director Jane Sharman said the event’s anniversary was a chance to celebrate its evolution "and the community that continues to support it".
"The final numbers for this year’s event represent remarkable growth for Challenge Wānaka.
"We began in 2007 with just 85 competitors and this year we will welcome more than 3000.
"This event has always been about more than racing.
"It is about courage, connection and celebrating what is possible, whether you are 5 years old, an adaptive athlete or racing professionally on the world stage," she said.
The event spanned three days.
More than 800 athletes are set to line up for the Challenge Wānaka Half today — a 1.9km swim in Lake Wānaka, a 90km bike course and a 21.1km run.
Among them, 152 teams could compete across corporate, mixed and gender categories.
Entries continued to come in just days out from the event, she said.
The team, "Sporty Spice", said they had all been competing in the challenge since primary school but this was the first year they had formed a team.
"Just do it — we practise over summer and it’s a really fun thing to do.
"There is also a lot of free stuff and good food," Arabella said.
Papanui High School, of Christchurch, had a large number of athletes competing in the adaptive challenge.
Teacher Sharon Scott said this was the fourth year the school had athletes competing.
"Our students compete in national competitions, they are no different to any other athlete.
"They take pride in their school, sport and themselves and take it very seriously.
"It does not matter if they are neurodivergent, they put in the same amount of effort and they just love it," she said.
