French triathlete swims butterfly, rides a bike and runs in crocs

To make the race "less boring" last weekend at the Zurich Ironman, French triathlete Victor Mellerin set his own handicaps to complete the 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.195km run.

The 26-year-old chose to swim butterfly, which is the most demanding stroke, to ride an ancient bike and run the marathon wearing crocs, which are the least stabilising for the foot.

"I didn't injure my feet, even no blisters! I'm the first surprised because I didn't test the crocs before. I just trained by running in the snow last winter during 5-hour sessions" Mellerin said to L'Equipe.

Before running the swimming teacher had to deal with a 25kg bike dating back to 1946.
"It comes from the Swiss army. By the way it's more a tank than a bike!"

"Cycling was the hardest due to very steep hills (12 percent average). The bike was heavy, the saddle unadapted and there was only one gear… It has been so difficult to climb these parts that I hesitated over giving up".

Mellerin eventually ended the Ironman 6 hours and half after the first professional, in 14 hours and 35 minutes (1h28'07'' for swimming; 7h36'31'' for cycling; 5h15'13'' for running).

"At the finish line it was euphoric! It was a great moment of sharing with the spectators, the athletes and the volunteers who supported me so much during all day".

"The goal was just to finish within the allocated time (16 hours). I wanted to have fun and make persons around laugh because it motivates me".

In addition to running the marathon at the pace of 7:30/km with crocs, the Swiss resident wore a suit and tie and got his bearings from the sun, for lack of a stopwatch.

On the other side of the boundary his compatriot Vincent Monnerie could deserve his self-proclaimed nickname "Conqueror of the Absurd". He's currently walking 700km through the French Alps with… a wheelbarrow.