Australian surf life saving legend picks his top 12 ironman guns, history feature
In nearly 60 years of racing at the Aussies incredibly there have only been 25 different ironman champions. So who’s the best? We ask one of the greats who has plenty of stories to tell.
Hall of Famer John Holt is a surf life saving great who knows how hard it is to rank the best in any sport and compare athletes from different generations.
But the world and Australian champion - who should probably be on the list himself - had a stab at it and has come up with a name plenty will know and agree with as his No 1.
But there are some choices in his top 12 order that are sure to spark debate and there’s an opportunity for you to have you say in our poll below.
Holt found that in 58 years of ironman history the race has been contested 55 times at the Australian Championship and remarkably in that time, there has only been twenty-five different winners.
“Every winner deserves recognition here,” sad Holt, a champion ironman himself who has also been a commentator and on the SLSA Board of Surf Sports over the years and seen all but the first two Australian ironman championship races.
“Before ranking the winners there are athletes who have not won the Australian open ironman championship who deserve honourable mentions.
“Graham Brewer won two Australian junior ironman championships before becoming a dual Olympian as a pool swimmer. Craig Riddington was outstanding in ironman and surf race competition and Barry Newman was never far from the front in any race he contested.
“Grant Wilkinson is arguably one of Australia’s great watermen, fearless in big surf and now outstanding as a surfboat sweep, coach, and mentor.’’
GREAT IRONMEN THROUGH THE AGES
Holt said each of the decades have produced outstanding champion.
“The sixties had the pioneers in Hayden Kenny and Barry Rodgers,’’ he said.
“The seventies were the university student years, as the ironmen champions of that time, like myself, Ken Vidler, Simon Martin, Greg Allum, and Robert Chapman all successfully combined their ironman training and competition with their tertiary studies.
“The eighties with Grant Kenny, Trevor Hendy, Guy Andrews, and Dwayne Thuys saw the first opportunities of ironman receiving some financial support for their training and racing.
“The nineties saw the emergence of great television coverage and media and national recognition of the ironman champions.
“The elite ironmen like Grant Kenny, Trevor Hendy, Dean and Darren Mercer, Guy Leech and Guy Andrews became household names and were competing for great prizemoney and sponsorship opportunities
“The last two decades have seen the continued recognition of the ironmen and the emergence of some of the most skilful and gifted surf lifesavers of all time in Ky Hurst, Zane Holmes, Nathan Smith and Shannon Eckstein.
“Like Grant Kenny, Zane and Shannon also had fathers who were great surf champions in their own right.
“Most recently Ali Day’s record has him closing in on the legend status of some of his predecessors.’’
MODERN DAY CHAMPION ALI DAY
Holt said Day’s unassuming nature and modest manner belies his achievements.
“Ali’s three wins in a row in the open ironman at the Australian Championships (leading into the 2024 event), his five Nutri-Grain Series wins and his unbelievable nine Coolangatta Gold victories places him well among the all-time greats.”
MULTIPLE IRONMAN WINNERS
Multiple winners of the Australian championships include Norm Rabjohns, Robert Chapman, Pierce Leonard, Dwayne Thuys and Dean and Darren Mercer.
“Each of these athletes deserve special recognition. Dean Mercer could well be described in boxing terminology as pound for pound the toughest ironman ever, small of stature but massive of heart,’’ Holt said.
“Darren was bigger in stature with the same massive heart and determination.
“As to Dwayne Thuys, I was fortunate to see almost every one of Dwayne’s races. He was consistently strong and skilfully flawless in his execution throughout his whole career. No other ironman from South Australia has had success like Dwayne.
“Norm Rabjohns was another of the great all-round watermen to have had successful ironman careers, Norm was fearless, fit and fun to be around. Ken Vidler, myself, and Norm loved touring in our Australian teams together.
“In rating our champions, anyone who has had the pleasure of a cold beer with Barry Rodgers at an Australian Championship would have been part of a conversation where Barry gave his opinion on the ironmen.
“I have in fact heard Barry, in one sentence, proclaim Ken Vidler as ‘the absolute champion’, Grant Kenny as “the greatest of all time” and Trevor Hendy as “the best ever”.
“Barry was forever humble about his own status. Prior to 1966 Barry had and outstanding career as a surf and belt swimmer, however it was his famous body wave in the last leg of the 1969 ironman final at Clifton beach Tasmania that elevated him from champion to legend.’’
IRONMAN HALL OF FAME
In 2004 Surf Lifesaving Australia inducted five ironmen into the first SLSA Hall of Fame in Vidler, Kenny, Hendy, Rodgers and Holt.
Holt, who raced 123 ironman races for 95 wins in his 10 year career, said this was the highlight of his career.
“Ken Vidler and I raced each other for almost a decade in Australian Championships and in competitions around the world and in four Australian teams. Head to head we always agreed to call it about even,’’ Holt said.
“Our rivalry was only surpassed by our friendship.’’
GRANT KENNY AND WHY HE WAS SO GREAT
“Multiple winner Grant Kenny was a thoroughbred born to be a surf champion. Grant had surf skills at the age of 12 that other surfers could only dream of,’’ Holt said.
“Grant won two junior and four open iron man championships and narrowly missed the double in an amazing finish when Russell Cooper won the junior championship at Wanda in 1981.
“Grant’s ability, success, skill, and personality enabled him to single-handedly revolutionise the sport and elevate the status of ironmen. Grant opened the door and then created the professional ironman competition.’’
WHAT MADE TREVOR HENDY SO SPECIAL
Holt also had plenty of praise for Hendy who won six open ironman championships along with many board, board rescue, board teams and Taplin Relay Championships.
“In the late eighties and early 90s Trevor dominated the ironman at national championships and in the Uncle Tobys Series,’’ he said.
“Trevor was gifted with the most amazing feel of the water. Trevor never took a bad option and regularly executed the most freakish things that only he could do.
“In a time when there were many perfectly trained and super skilful ironmen Trevor was the stand out champion.’’
THE TECHNICALLY PERFECT IRONMAN
Holt said Shannon Eckstein, who won his first open ironman in 2002 and by 2016 had amassed eight open championships, was the most “technically perfect ironman” he has seen.
“Clinical with every stroke, swim, board, and ski. Shannon like Trevor could thread his way through the most difficult surf,’’ Holt said.
“Shannon led many of his races from start to finish mercilessly relocating the rest of the competitors to fight for the silver medal. Shannon’s six world championships and nine Nutri-Grain Series wins makes him one of surf lifesaving's true legends.’’
THE GREAT WATERMAN
Holt reserves the titles of greatest all-round waterman for Hurst.
“Ky Hurst has four open ironman championships 10 open surf championships and multiple medals in board rescue, surf teams and Taplin relays,’' Holt said.
“Ky is the greatest all-round waterman I have ever seen. Ky was a dual Olympian in the open water swimming at Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Ky’s career in surfing, pool swimming and open water swimming is beyond comparison and more recently his America’s Cup sailing make him a truly unique champion.’’
JOHN HOLTS TOP 12
1. Trevor Hendy: Trevor is the freakish champion who was racing in the strongest period of ironman competition. No ironman ever made it look easier than Trevor
2. Shannon Eckstein: His technical perfection left many in his wake for his whole career. Shannon had great challengers like Zane Holmes, Nathan Smith, and Pierce Leonard who each managed to win their championships during the period of Shannon’s domination.
3. Ky Hurst: The greatest all-round waterman I have seen. Ky will also be my number one pick in the list of the greatest surf swimmers of all time.
4. Grant Kenny: Grant revolutionised ironman racing with his skill and strength at such an early age, Grant went on to spearhead professional ironman racing and he inspired and paved the way for all to follow.
5. Ken Vidler: – Ken is the most modest and one of the most capable athletes with whom I have raced and trained. His was a tenacious and skilful surf lifesaver who deserves his legend status
6. Ali Day: Ali has cemented his name in ironman history. Ali’s consistently excellent performances have set him apart and ahead of all his current challengers.
7. Barry Rodgers: Barry was irrepressible, charismatic, kind, and generous with his time and knowledge. Barry was an amazing athlete and his three championships in a row set the standard for ironman greatness.
8. Dwayne Thuys: A dual champion who being from South Australia had to blaze his own trail. Dwayne continued to be outstanding until the very end of his career. Always determined and always committed.
9. Darren and Dean Mercer: Together they flew the Nutri-Grain flag. Dean, as they say, always punched above his weight and Darren’s skill and determination made him the outstanding champion he was.
10. Zane Holmes: In addition to winning one Australian ironman title he won the Nutri Grain Ironman Series five times.
11. Nathan Smith – In addition to winning an Australian championship ironman title he also won multiple other disciplines at Aussies.
12. Guy Andrews: In the era of Trevor Hendy, Guy, like others, was for ever fighting for the silver medal. Guy set about a committed and meticulous training regimen to make himself the great athletes he became. His determination to succeed was inspiring.
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