World's fastest snail

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Three hundred eager competitors fought it out in a keenly contested race to be crowned the fastest snail in the world.
The annual World Snail Racing Championships in Congham, Norfolk, involves snails racing from the centre of a circle.

Snails are placed in the middle and pointed in the right direction. A snail trainer then starts the races by shouting: "Ready, steady, SLOW!"

A well-watered course is apparently the secret to a good championship as the snails like damp conditions.

Super snail Heikka, owned by thirteen-year-old Georgia Brow, claimed victory this year after taking the chequered flag in a time of 3mins 2secs.

Together Heikka, who is named after Lewis Hamilton's Formula One teammate Heikki Kovalainen, and Georgia received a first prize of a silver tankard stuffed with lettuce.

However, even Heikka was unable to beat the benchmark set in 1995 by a snail named Archie, who completed the race in a speedy two minutes.

Founder Tom Elwes started the annual snail championships in the 1960s after witnessing a similar event in France.

Nova