Four do Wanganui proud

SHIPSHAPE: Wanganui's Scott Thompson, Clint Black, Mike Hos and Paul Harrison looked eager to perform at Ironman Copenhagen registration, but were feeling a tad taxed later in the day.PHOTO/SUPPLIED 010915WCSUP01

FOUR Wanganui athletes kept the Wanganui flag flying in Denmark at the weekend, competing in the 2015 Ironman Copenhagen Triathlon.

Clint Black and Mike Hos were joined by UK-based Scott Thompson and France-based Paul Harrison to compete in the late summer event in the Scandinavian capital.

The four had amassed 57 full distance ironman races between them, and made up a strong party of 12 Kiwis competing with 2600 other Danish and international athletes. So with four from Wanganui, the River City was well represented on a per capita basis.

Thompson did best and was first out of the water with a quick 62-minute swim over the 3.8km course. He went on to post an impressive 5hr 9min time for the 180km bike leg and an overall time of 10hr 33m to cross the line in 45th position in his 45-49 age group. He was the 438th triathlete to cross the line.

Black put in an exceptionally good effort on the bike in the 40-44 age group, clocking 5hr 16m. He followed up with a solid marathon and crossed the line in 11hr 6m to finish 153rd in his group and 765th overall.

Harrison (50-54) and Hos (45-49) battled along at the rear of the field, with Harrison fading on the marathon to clock 13hr 51m, while Hos, fresh from intense pre-race training on a cruise ship holiday that involved plenty of liquids, kept the supporters on edge by clocking 15hr 4m, six minutes inside the race cut-off time.