Wurf overcomes sluggish swim to finish seventh at World IRONMAN

A sluggish swim leg cost him any hope of winning, but Tasmanian Cameron Wurf showed he can still be a danger at the top level with a strong result at Sunday’s IRONMAN World Championships.

Cameron Wurf competing in the IRONMAN World Championship. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for IRONMAN)

Tasmania’s Cameron Wurf has proven there’s plenty of fuel left in the tank after overcoming a sluggish swim leg to finish seventh at Sunday’s IRONMAN World Championships in Hawaii.

Known more for his cycling, the 41-year-old produced an electric run leg to move his way from 18th in the field.

Wurf was 43rd after the 3.8km swim, but made up ground through the 180km ride before finishing strongly over the 42.2km run.

“A lot of things went through my mind (after the swim). 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,” Wurf said.

“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. I’m certainly not a quitter.”

In his seventh time at the event, his best result fifth in 2019, Wurf wanted to show he was still a danger at the top level.

“Honestly, I’m rapt, I’m over the moon. I think I showed that I’m still competitive at this level,” he said.

“I knew if I didn’t swim well 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.”

Wurf confirmed he will return to try and win the iconic event.

“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,” he said.

“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.”