A FORMER Monmouth schoolboy has qualified for next year’s Ironman World Championships in Hawaii after winning his age group in one of the toughest endurance races.

Old Monmothian, Finn Arentz, took first place in the 18 to 24 age category after an outstanding performance at Ironman Wales in Tenby.

He completed the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26-mile run in a total of 10 hours and seven minutes – 17 minutes ahead of his closest rival.

Finn finished the marathon in 3.11.34 - the 11th fastest time of the day – and was 24th overall out of more than 2,000 athletes.

Twenty-year-old Finn was a pupil at Monmouth School for Boys between 2012 and 2016.

Fellow Old Monmothians Jak Smith, Chris Barton and Jon Mitchell also competed at Ironman Wales.

Although he is studying full-time at Exeter University, Finn manages to fit in at least 12 to 20 hours of training every week.

Finn has been competing in triathlon since 2016 and has ambitions to be a professional in the sport.

“The longer distances suit me and I always get much better results in the longer races,” said Finn.

“I felt disbelief at the finish - I couldn’t believe I had done it.”

Finn will be heading to Hawaii to race alongside the best triathletes in the world next October.