Donnacha Holmes completes Ironman World Championships in style

Carrick-on-Shannon triathlete covers arduous 226km challenge in 9 hrs 25 mins 16 secs

While most of us were fast asleep, Carrick-on-Shannon's Donnacha Holmes joined a very select group of athletes when he completed the famed Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Donnacha completed the legendary Hawaiian Ironman course, the course where the Ironman challenge was first held 40 years ago, in a time of 9 hrs 25 mins 16 secs, a fantastic time considering that the Kona course is known as an extremely testing and demanding course with a mixture of high temperatures and strong winds on an exposed island.

Donnacha pictured pre-race with all the gear he used during the Ironman World Championships

With a dedicated band of followers from Carrick, Lough Key Tri Club and Leitrim being kept up to date with Donnacha's progress thanks to regular updates on What'sApp by his wife Aoife, there were a lot of sleepless nights as the Lough Key Tri Club's athletes progress was followed intensely.

A smiling Donnacha on the run

Donnacha finished 327th overall out of 2,378 finishers and 42nd in the Men's 40 to 44 year old category while also being the 303rd male across the line on a day when the course record was smashed by Patrick Lange of Germany with a time of 7 hrs 53 mins.

For the number crunchers among you, Donnacha covered the 3.9km swim in a time of 1 hr 05 mins 30 secs, averaging 1 min 42 secs per 100m. A quick transition of 3 mins 50 secs saw him hop on the bike for an incredible 180Km journey that he covered in 4 hrs 52 mins 09 secs for an average of 23.09 miles per hour.

Donnacha on the bike after exiting the transition area

The final transition took 4 mins 56 secs before starting off into his full 26.2 mile marathon which he covered in 3 hrs 18 mins 22 secs, an average of 7 mins 30 secs per mile, a truly outstanding performance.

Donnacha and supporters before the race