An Irishman who battled heroin addiction and suicidal thoughts before becoming a clean-living endurance athlete has rowed his way into the record books.

Gavan Hennigan, 35 and from Galway, has become the fastest solo competitor in the history of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge - dubbed the world's toughest row.

He pulled into Antigua’s English Harbour after a punishing 3,000-mile journey across the ocean in a time of 49 days, 11 hours and 37 minutes.

It meant he also smashed the record for the quickest Atlantic crossing by an Irish rower, beating the previous best by Sean McGowan by 69 days.

Mr Hennigan fought mental and physical challenges during the crossing, which began on 14 December in the Canary Islands, to come in third ahead of a fleet of two-, three- and four-person teams.

Speaking as he arrived to a hero’s welcome in the Caribbean, he said: “It was pretty tough, those last few days holding off the team behind me - I was rowing non-stop, but I was determined to finish third.

“Coming into the finish line tonight was just an incredible atmosphere.”

It was an epic adventure, and I'd absolutely want to do it again. Gavan Hennigan

The 35-year-old was used to the isolation, having been a saturation diver on oil rigs for the last decade.

And the mental challenge was an altogether different battle to the anguish he suffered while addicted to hard drugs in a bedsit in London in the early 2000s.

Mr Hennigan, whose crossing saw him raising money for Jigsaw Galway and Cancer Care West, said he turned to heroin after struggling to admit he was gay.

But after fighting back from the brink of suicide, the Irishman channelled his energies into clean living and endurance challenges which have seen him travel the globe in pursuit of his next thrill.

“I feel like, having come back from the brink - that dark place in my mind - I don't feel like something like this challenge could faze me too much,” he said.

“This is just for fun.”

Gavan's a fantastic example of someone who has used difficult moments from his past to motivate himself to achieve great feats and inspire others in the process. Carsten Heron Olsen, Atlantic Campaigns race organiser