Brave run leads to World bronze for Mark

Mark Buckingham (right) from Huddersfield and Holmfirth Harriers makes podium at World Duathlon Championships in Canada. Below: Training at the John Smith’s Stadium made a break and nobody would help Buckingham to bridge the gap, so by the time they arrived in T2 for the final run there was a gap of 59 seconds.

Buckingham completed the bike course in 1-07.47, but as he set off on the final 5km run he suffered badly with cramp in a hamstring due to his efforts on the bike.

The cramp was so bad he had to stop twice on the first lap, losing valuable time to his rivals.

On the final lap he rallied and went in pursuit of Yohan Le Berre, another Frenchman who had moved into third place.

The two leaders, Nicolas and Martin, both had to stop for a 15-second penalty for not racking their bikes correctly in transition, which added to the drama.

Nicolas went on to win in an overall time of 1-54.08 and Martin clinched the silver medal in 1-54.57.

Buckingham was able to catch Le Berre in the last 400m and, with 200m to go, they sprinted to the finish with Buckingham managing to hold his form through the line.

This was a good result for Buckingham and the second time he has won a World Duathlon bronze medal after his success in Adelaide, Australia in 2015.

The race in Adelaide was his last race before an 18-month break due to injury.