A Welsh triathlete has covered 140 miles on foot, bike and sea before crossing a finish line of a different variety, with a little help from mum.
Sam Davis, competing in the Wales Ironman, mustered up enough energy down the closing stretch of the race to hold aloft a sign he collected from his mother in the crowd displaying the message 'Marry me George', a proposal to his long-time partner Georgie Anderson.
The 25-year-old ran immediately to his impending fiancée who was waiting in the wings in support, her emotional reaction providing an instant giveaway of her response.
Davis, an amateur to the sport who plies his trade as a poultry wholesaler, decided to enter the competition in a bid to raise money for cancer research.
"I lost my granddad to cancer around a year and a half ago and decided I wanted to give something back to Velindre cancer centre," Davis said on his Facebook page.
"I came up with the idea with my best mate that I would compete in the Ironman Wales, having never taken part in a triathlon of any sort before."
An horrific crash during week 19 of his 30 week training program, tumbling from his bike at 50km/h straight into a brick wall, helped bring home just how much his partner meant to him and set his plan into motion.
"I came off my bike at 30mph head first into a stone wall. If I didn't have my helmet on I'd be dead!
"I couldn't walk for three days. On the one side it slowed my training down but on the plus it made me realise how much I need Georgie and how selfish I had been all year."
His fund-raising efforts resulted in a £2000 (NZ$3550) haul for his charity of choice, and despite finishing well back in the field it was clear Davis himself believed he had still won the ultimate prize.
Newshub.
