Sub-8, Kona Qualification and second place at IRONMAN Copenhagen for Will Clarke.

While the Olympics have taken pretty much all of the attention over the past two weeks, a British Olympian from Beijing 2008 was also producing a fantastic (and much needed) performance at Ironman Copenhagen on Sunday.

Seeking qualification for the Ironman World Championships, this really was 'last chance saloon' for Will Clarke, who needed a big performance in Denmark. And, he delivered just that.

Just weeks after Joe Skipper recorded the first sub-eight hour iron-distance finish by a British athlete at Challenge Roth, Will has now also joined the Sub-8 Club, finishing second in 7:59:31. The race was won by Sweden's Patrick Nilsson in a great time of 7:49:18. I've now got to go off and re-write (again!), my iron-stats archive...

The Copenhagen race was a Pro race only for the men (with Saturday's Ironman Kalmar, Sweden - just a few hours away - hosting just the Pro women). With a $75,000 total prize purse, that also means a healthy $15,000 prize for second place too.

Speaking to BMC-Etixx Pro Triathlon Team media, a thrilled Will Clarke said:

“It was an amazing day in Copenhagen, I got second place, qualified for the World Championship in Kona and went sub 8 hours. It really was a perfectly executed race today, I am really happy with my race and how I could put together this performance. It was a crucial time, I needed to be on the podium today to qualify for Kona, we did it, and to do so in this manner feels really special. We've got so much to go for in Kona now. I am really delighted to put a race like this together, it is a big confidence booster ahead of Kona. Today also really shows I am good at Ironman, it really is my thing and I look forward to the next races. I also want to say a special thanks to everyone, especially my family, my support crew and BMC-Etixx Pro Triathlon Team powered by Uplace. I am so so happy.”

IRONMAN Copenhagen - Sunday 21st August 2016
3.8km / 180km / 42.2km