A performance that commands admiration.
The Frenchman Ludovic Chorgnon signed the coldest ultra-triathlon ever carried out without assistance, after 20 hours of effort to swim in almost frozen water, to pedal on snowy tracks then to run a marathon in the dark night.
North-west of the capital of Finnish Lapland Rovaniemi, he took the start Friday at 6:04 a.m. to complete his journey at 2:50 a.m. Saturday (local time), i.e. 20 hours 45 minutes in total, indicated Sandrine Crosnier, judge at the international triathlon federation and commissioned on site by the Guinness World Records for the approval of the performance.
In Lake Vikajarvi, in a 25m pool specially dug for the occasion, Ludovic Chorgnon, fully covered by a 5mm wetsuit, completed 152 lengths (3.8km), i.e. 1 hour 29 minutes to swim, before swimming spend 11 hours 35 minutes on the bike (180 km) then take 6 hours 26 minutes for the run (42.2 km).
“The hardest thing was swimming, physically and emotionally.
The moment you enter a swimming pool in a frozen lake, the cold invades you, you know it's dangerous, it's a hell of a load!
No matter how much you prepare, when you're in it it's super hard, you feel your heart slowing down, your limbs going numb, don't panic, ”he says.
41 ultra-triathlons in 41 days
Ludovic Chorgnon also suffered on the bike.
“That's where I struggled the most.
On a bike you're afraid of wallowing, I was over 40 km / h on some descents, you squeeze your buttocks!
I underestimated the climbs and the descents”, continues the extreme runner, followed by a doctor throughout the challenge.
The 50-year-old athlete, who had already achieved a record by chaining 41 ultra-triathlons in 41 days in 2015, observed transition phases during the record, and experienced two "strokes", the first of which when he passed from cycling to running.
“Despite the experience, I got screwed and sweated.
And in one minute everything changes, the water freezing on you, your teeth chatter,” he recalls.
Installed in Reunion since last summer, he had prepared himself by running in a supermarket freezer at minus 23 degrees.
"It was a wonderful life experience, I'm going to take it with me to the end, I know what I'm able to bring out as resources no matter what happens to me" concludes the triathlete who has other records in his sights.
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Finland
Record
Extreme sport
Triathlon
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