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The sprint finish was a thrilling climax to the
race, which was run as part of the Norseman Extreme Triathlon,
with Norway's Tungesvik crossing the line in a time of nine
hours 59 minutes and 40 seconds.
Lucy Gossage of Great Britain cruised to victory in the women's
race.
Revered among extreme endurance athletes for its cold-water
swim, punishing cycling climbs and gruelling mountain-top
finish, the Norseman attracts thousands of entries every year,
but only 291 made it to the start.
Having jumped from a ferry in the morning into the dark waters
of Eidfjord just before five o'clock local time, Tungesvik and
Hovda battled it out through a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride and
a marathon that ended with a 5km trek to the summit of
Gaustatoppen, almost 1900 meters above sea level.
"I saw Allan in front of me and something just happened," an
elated Tungesvik said. "Running on pure will and adrenaline, I
was able to accelerate and catch him just before the finish
line.
"It was a tight and epic battle between Allan and I, which makes
it even the more enjoyable - we pushed each other's limits all
the way to the end."
Hovda arrived just over a minute later and the two athletes
shared an exhausted embrace.
There was no such drama in the women's race as Gossage powered
home almost 30 minutes ahead of fellow Brit Flora Colledge, who
came in second.
"At the finish line it felt like I was on top of the world, it
was amazing," Gossage said as she celebrated with her family.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
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