IN PICTURES: 51-year-old Belgian is on the road for 72 hours in the infamous London-Paris ultratriathlon (!) | Remarkable

Arnaud De Meester left London on Saturday evening at 11.20 pm and arrived in the heart of Paris on Tuesday at 11.15 pm – or 71 hours and 55 minutes later.

No, De Meester did not have a car breakdown or a bad GPS. Our 51-year-old compatriot was the second Belgian ever to complete the Enduroman, an ultra triathlon considered one of the toughest in the world.

After a 140 km run between London and Dover, it was followed by a swim across the Channel (35 to 45 km, depending on the current), before finishing with a 290 km cycling from Calais to Paris.

Punishment!

Another compatriot, Julien Deneyer, already did it for him in 2019 and immediately set a race record (52 hours and 30 minutes). That was then tightened up by Frenchman Lionel Jourdan (49 hours and 24 minutes).

Since the first edition in 2000, 52 triathletes have successfully completed the Enduroman. The competition is nicknamed “Arch to Arc”, a reference to the Marble Arch in London and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.