A Clacton athlete has told about his gruelling 53-hour triathlon race which has left him ranked eighth in the world.

Des Kiernan, of West Avenue, has just taken part in the Triple Iron Man Triathlon World Championships in Neulengbach, Austria.

But a finish was exactly what the self-employed carpenter was looking for.

Kiernan said: "It took me ten years to train for this. About 30 started the race and about 14 or 15 finished."

The race is regarded as one of the toughest in the world and it took its toll on the competitors.

It includes a 336-mile cycle ride, a run of 78 miles and an eight-mile swim.

Kiernan said: "The weather was windy, raining, hot, everything you can think of. It really changes drastically in the Austrian Alps.

"It can be 90 degrees, you turn the corner and it goes down to 40 degrees.

"I just had to stop and change clothing as I went along."

Athletes from 12 nations including Germany, Mexico and Lithuania were taking part in the competition.

Kiernan said the swimming took 3hrs 35mins to complete, but the real test came during the high altitude of the cycle stage.

"I had big problems on the bike. I had a few nose bleeds."

The stage took 28 hours to complete.

He also impressed one of his support team who has put the athlete's name forward to represent the British team in the autumn in a 150-mile run in Athens.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.