Cold feat...

Real-life Thor is first man to swim 1,000 miles round Iceland

- BY DAN WARBURTON

A BRITISH endurance athlete has completed a feat worthy of Thor by becoming the first man to swim around Iceland.

In a challenge put to him by Chris Hemsworth - the actor who plays the norse superhero in the Marvel films - Ross Edgley, 39, spent nearly four months circumnavigating 1,000 miles of freezing waters.

He consumed 10,000 calories a day in order to tackle his daily target of 12.4 miles and battled hypothermia and saltwater tongue rot before crossing the finishing line at Nautholsvik beach in the capital Reykjavik.

Ross and Chris struck up a friendship after working on documentary series Limitless and the idea for the swim came from a discussion they had on the subject of heroes.

They came to the conclusion it would be as close as you could get to swimming around Asgard - the mythical home of Thor.

Ross, who was greeted after his swim with a Viking horn and sprayed with champagne, said: "This has been the toughest and most ambitious challenge I have attempted yet.