A SUPERB swim, cycle and a dogged marathon earned a Tavistock man a new Irish Ironman record, when he took part in the gruelling athletic test in Florida.

Rich Brady (pictured), who lives in Tavistock, completed the 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km marathon in 9hrs 13mins 29s to finish 44th out of 2,200 finishers.

He completed the swim in 54mins 59s, the cycle ride in 4hrs 54min and the marathon in 3hrs 20mins.

'I am delighted to have set a new Irish record and hope that I can lower the mark again next year,' said Rich. 'I would like to thank Martin at Tavy Cycles for his help getting my bike in perfect shape and the coaches at Kelly College for their continued support,' Rich told the Times.