Paudie goes for triathlon gold 3 years after learning to swim

He only learned to swim three years ago — yet Paudie O’Donovan will represent Ireland in the world triathlon championships next June, one relay of which involves a 4km swim.

He’s one of three Corkmen, all members of the West Cork Triathlon Club, who will be representing their country at different events later this year in the upcoming World Triathlon Championships.

Next June, the Skibbereen father-of-two, who only took up running as a hobby when he gave up smoking in 2008, flies to France to compete in the formidable long-distance world triathlon championships, in which he must also cycle 110km and run 30km, a feat which he expects to compete in under eight hours.