JULIAN JENKINSON was in a class of his own at possibly Britain's toughest triathlon - beating his nearest rival home by a massive 23 minutes in the aptly-named Longest Day Ironman event in Wolverhampton.

And the Southampton triathlete and GB record-holder - a last-minute entrant - could have gone quicker.

After exiting the 2.4-mile swim in third place and taking a commanding lead in the 112-mile bike ride, he was visibly easing up as he ran a 2 hours 56 minutes marathon to finish in a total 8 hours 33 minutes 39 seconds.

Jenkinson - who is backed by race sponsor Tri UK Inc - now heads for the Dutch Ironman in September, which doubles up as the European Long Distance Championships.

Danish athlete Morten Sorensen was best of the rest in 9.02.55 - but Basingstoke Tri's Martin Harris was close behind, running through to a strong fifth place (9.17.21). Tri UK's Suzanne Davies (10.17.37) stayed a minute clear of Vicky Bigmore to win the women's race.

Seasoned Isle of Wight triathlete John Holbrook (Offshore Sports) scored an impressive victory in the super-vets (over-50) category - improving on last year's third place in 10.27.24. Richard Dance (Southampton Running Club) was another improver, clocking 10.20.50 for 38th overall.

But one of the day's most extraordinary performances came from veteran Hardley Triathlete Kevan Day. Just three weeks after being completely immobile with a back injury, he recovered to complete his first-ever Ironman in 11.25.41 - comfortably in the top half of a 250-strong field whose finishing times stretched back past the 17-hour mark.

With clubmate Roger Bingham (10.47.23), he also notched up the first Ironman finishes for Hardley Runners' year-old but fast-developing triathlon section. Another Hampshire competitor, Winchester-based Army Major Pat Burns, finished in 13:55:19.

This Sunday sees the final event of this year's New Forest triathlon series, at the revived Totton Triathlon.

Athletes will swim 600m in the Recreation Centre pool, cycle 20 miles and run five miles.

Hargroves' Ian White is favourite for the men's series title; while UK middle-distance champion Ruth Hutton (Asics Multisport) must hold off Lucy Wells, Joanne Iles and current series leader Loretta Kirwan (Hardley Tri/GA Cycles).

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