Conor and Shane complete Ironman challenges

OMAGH Triathlon Club's (OTC) Shane McGale added another Ironman finish to his accolades when he completed Ironman California last week.

The swim takes place in the Sacramento River, starting at Township 9 Park in the American River and heading downstream into the Sacramento River and out at the Tower Bridge. Shane completed the swim in 56mins 03secs.

The bike course is an out-and-back loop that is to be done twice made up the 180km through the agricultural land known for its wine production.

McGale got round the bike course in a time of 6hrs 30mins 39secs. Racking the bike and slipping into the running shoes, Shane now had to conquer the 42.2km run that is the final stage of any full-distance triathlon.

The marathon takes the competitors on 2 laps around Sacramento and along the Rivers, and Shane finished the run in 7hrs 13mins 23secs. Finish time - 15.05.50

Another Ironman finisher last weekend was Conor Daly in Portugal.

The early swim start was at the Praia da Ribeira where the single-lap 3.8km swim awaited. Conor finished the swim in 1hr 27mins 54secs.

Two laps around the bike course meant that Conor got to enjoy the scenery twice round, with a part of the bike taking him across the Estoril Formula 1 Circuit.

The rolling course has its turning point in Lisbon and Conor completed the cycle in 7hrs 34mins 16secs.

Lastly it was time for the marathon - a rolling 42.2km that takes the competitors on a three-loop route entirely along the coast.

A challenging run, but it was no bother to Conor as he got round it in 5hrs 05mins 07secs. Finish time - 14.28.48

Also on tour last week were a handful of OTC members at Challenge Paguera 70.3 in Spain.

The swim began in the Mediterranean Sea, with the 1900m swim is split by an Aussie exit, in which the swimmers came bounding out of the water and back in for the remainder of the swim.

It was then time to strip off the wetsuit and grab the bike for the two-lap 90km cycle throughout the scenic views of the Island.

The day was now heating up and there was little to no shelter on this brutal half-marathon that awaited them. Four laps around the town and along the beachfront totalled up the 21.2km where the competitor could cross the red carpet.

Results: Martin Loughran - 04.56.41, Dervla, Sean & Catriona - 04.57.01, Ciaran Breen - 05.10.27, Niamh Heaney - 05.11.08, Michael Holland - 05.12.26, OTC Elites - 05.38.04, OTC Rookies - 05.48.14, Laura Fitzpatrick - 05.57.28, Padraig McDermott - 05.58.12, Niall Heaney - 06.22.33, Alanna McAleer - 06.42.38, Conor McCabe - 06.59.00, Niamh Prevett - 07.11.32.

Denis Borimskij was also in Spain last weekend and completed the OCEANMAN 10km Swim.

The Cala Bassa Beach is where a range of events took place this weekend, with our Denis opting for the seriously challenging 10km swim.

One lap in the Balearic Sea makes up the distance after a 9am start time - where only 100 swimmers make the start line.

Denis completed the swim in a fantastic time of 4hrs 14mins 18secs