Man, 19, becomes 'island's youngest Ironman'

A 19-year-old man from Guernsey is believed to have become the youngest person from the island to complete an Ironman competition, a club says.

Braden Morris completed the Ironman race in Austria over the weekend, saying afterwards it had been "really mentally challenging" but that he was "absolutely buzzing to have completed it".

He said he had targeted a time of about 13 hours, 40 minutes but completed it in under 12 hours.

An Ironman race consists of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180km) cycle ride and a 26.2 mile (42km) marathon run. Guernsey Triathlon Club said it believed Morris was the youngest competitor from the island to complete such an event.

Morris said the run was the hardest part of the challenge "having done all of the exercise before that and then going into a marathon".

He said: "The furthest I had run before it was only a half-marathon, so I was going into the unknown a little bit. That was a challenge."

Morris said his legs were aching but the "amazing views" along the route pushed him through.

He added he was keen to push himself more in the future, with the aim of one day joining the Royal Marines Commandos.

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