Multi-talented Tasmanian athlete Cameron Wurf has again saved his best for the biggest stage.
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For the second year running, the former Olympic rower and WorldTour cyclist has claimed a course record at the ironman world championships.
The Sandy Bay 35-year-old blitzed his own record on the 180-kilometre bike leg of the gruelling eight-hour event in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Hitting the overall race lead after the opening 3.86km swim leg, Wurf rolled into the second transition having completed the bike leg in 4:09:06 – more than three minutes faster than he rode last year.
American Andrew Starykowicz also went under the existing record with a 4:12:18 split.
Leading the race into the marathon run for the second year running, Wurf was caught early in the 42km final leg and eventually finished ninth in 8:10:32 – the highest finish by a Tasmanian and third fastest by an Australian.
He was 17:54 behind German Patrick Lange who won the race in 7:52:38 – setting a new overall record in the 40th running of the iconic event.
An under-23 world champion in rowing, Wurf also attended the 2004 Athens Olympics in the lightweight double scull before switching his sporting focus to cycling.
In a decade-long pro cycling career, the former Hutchins student rode three Grand Tours and came third in the time trial at the 2015 Oceania Road Championships.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
