Ironman World Championship: Billy Monger breaks double amputee record as Patrick Lange wins title

Former racing driver Billy Monger broke the Ironman record for a double amputee at the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

Monger, 25, completed the 226.3km (140.6 miles) course in 14 hours 23 minutes 56 seconds, more than two hours inside the previous record.

“I can’t believe what just happened,” Monger, who was aiming to finish in 17 hours, wrote on social media.

“World Championship record broken. I am officially an Ironman!”

Monger completed the 3.8km swim in 1:07:29, the 180km cycle in 7:26:50 and the marathon run in 5:26:26.

Germany’s Patrick Lange won the race in 7:35:53, knocking almost five minutes off Gustav Iden’s 2022 course record to claim his third world title.

Monger’s legs were amputated after he was involved in a near-fatal crash while racing at Donington Park in 2017.

He has since moved into broadcasting, featuring in the BBC series Celebrity Race Across the World and completing Billy’s Big Challenge in 2021, when he walked, cycled and kayaked across Britain and raised more than £3m for Comic Relief.

One of his legs is amputated above the knee and the other below. His bike and prosthetics were modified to make riding and running more comfortable.

Monger said that when he began training he struggled to run 5km without feeling pain from his prosthetics.