Belvoir Tri Club athlete Chris Edmondson-Harris completes an ironman event in Hamburg
It proved to be a case of third time lucky for Belvoir Tri Club athlete Chris Edmondson-Harris after he completed an ironman event in Hamburg.
Chris had been unsuccessful in two previous ironman attempts but a strategically planned entry into the European Championships in Germany paid dividends.
His first attempt at the ironman distance in Bolton in 2022 had started well until he was timed out after completing the bike leg in transition.
Chris was six minutes over the cut off after misjudging his timing to stop and prepare drinks for the run.
He had undertaken this challenge as part of a group of three ex-servicemen, the other two completed theirs.
He was back for a second attempt in 2023 but was medically withdrawn this time with wind stroke due to the 40-50mph winds which saw even saw some of the elite athletes hang up their helmets against the brutal weather.
Edmondson-Harris then decided to travel to Germany where he was met with near enough perfect conditions.
His swim time for the 3.8km (2.4 mile) event was going to plan and he was ahead of time and looked strong as he moved onto the bike leg of the Ironman distance.
The 178km bike course consisted of two loops which led from Hamburg's city where spectators could view participants as they passed through onto the next lap or left the course ready to take on the four-loop 42.2 km (26.2 mile) run.
Tackling the last lap of the run, Edmondson-Harris was still smiling as he made his way down the infamous red ironman carpet to cheers and applause from the crowds and his wife Michelle as he rang the first timer bell.
He crossed the finish line in 15:07:34 and now has set his sights on returning to Bolton for his next ironman event.
Edmondson-Harris said: "It did hurt but it was a fantastic event in a lovely city with a great friendly atmosphere all around.
"I'm planning on going back to Bolton at the end of the month to complete the half-marathon distance."
Closer to home, four club members headed down to Grafham Water to take on the middle-distance triathlon.
Steve Rodgers, Claire Temprell and Kate Dewar joined forces and entered the event as a relay team while Claire Armstrong take part in the aqua bike race distance.
Coming back from a knee injury in March, Kate wasn't sure if she was ready to race at this distance in what was a fast field with it being a championship race.
She commented: "The focus was to finish the race.
"Our actual goal as a relay team is to complete the Outlaw full distance triathlon in July so this was a great warm-up."