Nutri-Grain ironman Rd 3-4: NZ gun Joe Collins chasing surf history at Maroubra

He was inspired to become an ironman by a bizarre incident involving a race as a kid, a helicopter and a star of the sport. Now this young gun is out make a big mark in the Nutri-Grain series.

Amanda Lulham

@amandalulham

2 min read

January 9, 2023 - 11:00PM

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Joe Collins is a New Zealand ironman.

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New Zealand young gun Joe Collins was inspired to become an ironman by a bizarre incident as a kid involving a local race, a helicopter drop and an Aussie legend of the sport in Shannon Eckstein.

Now, almost sevens years on, the Taranaki born Collins is based in Australia and hoping to create a special piece of history in the famous Australian Nutri-Grain ironman surf series.

But Collins, son of former Waikato rugby prop Michael, had to ring his sister to verify his memory of the strange but life-changing incident when he was 14 was actually true and “not a dream’’.

“It was so surreal,’’ he said. “We were at this race and I was in the under 14s and this helicopter started to fly low over us and we all stopped racing to watch.

“Then Shannon Eckstein jumped out and paddled in. It was awesome. That’s my memory of it anyway.

Shannon Eckstein was dominant on the sand and in the surf before his retirement.

“That opened the floodgates for me. I knew what I wanted to do.’’

Further encounters with the now retired Matt Poole and the legendary Ali Day confirmed to the then teenager Collins ironman racing was in his destiny and he packed up and left home when just 18 to train and race on the Gold Coast.

Now, at 21, he has the goal of becoming the first international to end Australia's long domination of winning the Nutri-Grain series overall - if not this year then in the not to distant future.

“It is something I would love to do in my career,’’ said Collins, in fourth place heading into round three and four of the Nutri-Grain series at Maroubra this weekend after a fourth and fifth in the opening weekend of racing in early January.

New Zealander Joe Collins moved to BMD Northcliffe to pursue his ironman dream.

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Collins, who said he has long idolised multiple ironman series winner Ali Day, beat him for the first time in round two of the series in late December.

“When I first made the series he was like a god to me,’’ said Collins, who in 2020/21 finished third overall, the best placed rookie in history.

“Now he’s a man and we are challenging.’’