Franny Benali back on the road to complete Ironman Challenge

Saints legend Franny Benali will today attempt to complete the final day of his epic IronFran challenge in his home city of Southampton in a final push to raise £1m for Cancer Research UK.

Following two days of rest and further medical assessment 50-year-old Franny got back in the pool this morning and completed a 2.4 mile swim at David Lloyd in Southampton.

He swam alongside his swim coach Lucy Williams and was supported by the team who have coached him to swim at this level since the start of the year.

The decision comes after the Saints legend was forced to withdraw from the past two days of his 7-day challenge on health grounds.

Yesterday Franny spent much of the day in a support vehicle following a team of cyclists who completed the 112-stretch in his honour, weaving their way from Farnborough, via Brighton, to Southampton.

As the bikes returned home to Colden Common friends and fans packed the car park to welcome them and cheer on a small army of runners who were starting the penultimate marathon on behalf of dad-of-two Franny.

This morning Franny will conquer the Southampton marathon, running the first half alongside his best friend and fellow Saints superstar Matt Le Tissier.

A peloton with then accompany Franny on the final 112-mile bike ride across the New Forest before he returns home to a hero’s welcome at Guildhall Square this evening.

Members of the public are being invited to come and join the party and celebrate his incredible achievement from 7.45pm.

A spokesperson for IronFran said: “Franny is feeling really positive and well rested this morning and he is delighted to have completed his final swim.

“He got an enormous boost from the incredible scenes as he arrived back in Southampton area yesterday and was completely overwhelmed by the huge amount of supporters who lined the streets to give him and the runners a big cheer.

“He was also in complete awe of his support team and the many family and friends who completed the sixth day of the challenge for him.

“Throughout this week Franny has been excited and very much looking forward to completing this final leg in his home city and we hope the people of Southampton will turn out in force to help him cross the finish line.”