Ultra runner Sorokin smashes own 24-hour record

Lithuanian ultra marathon runner Aleksandr Sorokin shattered his own world record at the IAU 24-hour European championships with a distance of 319.614 kilometres - just 10km less than it would have taken him to run the length of his home country from top to bottom.

Sorokin averaged a pace of 4:30 per km at the event in Verona, Italy to eclipse his previous mark of 303.506 km, set in August last year.

"I'm very tired, however I'm double excited," the 40-year-old wrote in a post on Instagram. "Very, very thankful for your support, I really felt it."

Second place in the event, which took place on Sept. 17-18, went to Poland's Andrzej Piotrowski (301.858 km) while Italy's Marco Visiniti finished third (288.437 km).

In the women's event, Poland's Patrycja Bereznowska ran 256.250 km to finish ahead of Frenchwoman Stephanie Gicquele and compatriot Malgorzata Pazda-Pozorska.