Australia’s Cameron Wurf has finished seventh at the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, crossing the line 7:51:26, with Germany’s Patrick Lange claiming his third world title.
While Wurf is traditionally known as one of the strongest cyclists in the field it was his run that shone through on the biggest stage in the sport, moving his way up from 18th to seventh throughout the marathon.
The Tasmanian had his work cut out for him from the start, exiting the 3.8km swim in 43rd position, but got to work as soon as he jumped onto the bike, carving his way through the field.
“It wasn’t the greatest of starts, I literally got blown out of the water in the swim, I was further back than fullback there, and a lot of things went through my mind, I felt like I’d let a lot of people down as I knew I’d put myself out of a chance of winning the race,” said Wurf. “But I guess on a positive I was quite comfortable because I was going quite slow, so I thought I’m going to have to ride really hard or run really well, one of the two, and try and put myself back in the race somehow. I’m certainly not a quitter.”
The 41-year-old set the sixth fastest bike time, returning to transition in 18th, and then continued his forward trajectory as soon as he hit the run course.
“I didn’t ride great but I rode ok, I sort of picked off a few people but I realised I rode pretty quick and I thought you never know, maybe all these guys at the front are hurting and sure enough I just got out there on the Queen K, I’d already passed quite a few guys and I could see a lot out ahead of me and I just thought right, stay calm to the Energy Lab and then just see what happens,” he said. “I think I was getting close to the top 10 there and I was in and out of the Energy Lab and got back onto the Queen K and dragged myself back up to seventh.
“Honestly, I’m rapt, I’m over the moon. I think I showed that I’m still competitive at this level. I knew if I didn’t swim well, that was it, I wasn’t going to have a chance to win but I think I’ve proven that I can still contend here, I’ve just got to get on top of that swim, I’ve done it here in the past, I’ve swum well, and I know I can ride well when I’m at the front of the race,” he said.
While Wurf would have liked to have finished further up the leaderboard he leaves Hawai’i determined to continue to improve and push himself.
“We’ll go away and figure out where we weren’t quite in the race but I know that there’s a chance here to put it all together. I know I’ve got limited years left and I know after the past couple of years a lot of people are saying, he’s getting old, he’s slipping,” said Wurf. “To be honest when I was out there, I was worried people were going to be saying that, and I’m glad I’ve flipped that around because I’m far from done here. I believe I can come back and have my best day.”
Fellow Australian Nick Thompson finished 21st on his VinFast IRONMAN World Championship debut.
“It was so hard, that was 100% the hardest race I’ve done. The swim was like a washing machine all the way to halfway point and was pretty fast on the way back. The bike was such an undulating course, it just was so hard, and being in a group, getting on the brakes and then going again,” he said. “The run was just survival, I don’t even know what I could have done more, I’ve never run great in IRONMAN races and it’s something I look to improve one day, I don’t think you can rush it. I’m pretty content with how I raced with what I have at the moment. A hundred percent I’ll try and be back here and also be in Nice next year, I’ll do everything I can.”
The West Australian said that he took a lot away from his first attempt at the IRONMAN World Championship.
“It’s super special, it’s really unlike any other race, even though it gets pretty isolated on parts of the bike and the run. It’s just special,” said Thompson. “The guys that were ahead of me, they’re the best in the world and it’s just an honour to race them and watch how they go about things. This is where I want to be hopefully every year, and then at least I can call myself a professional triathlete.”
Sam Appleton finished in 24th, crossing the line in 8:08:05, with Steve McKenna 42nd. Perth’s Matt Burton was forced to retire early in the bike after suffering an allergic reaction in the swim.