Chris McCormack, best triathlete of all time!

After seeing Chris McCormack win his second Iron Man World Champioship title this past Saturday I thought, what makes a great triathlete? I looked him up and thought I would share this with you (taken from Wikipedia):

Chris entered the professional triathlon circuit in 1996, having won the Australian Junior Championship in 1993, and rapidly rose to success only eight months after his debut, taking the World No. 1 position and defeating arguably the strongest field ever assembled in triathlon history to win both the 1997 Triathlon World Championships and the 1997 ITU World Cup Series. Macca is credited with being the first male triathlete ever to win both titles (the double) in the same year.

After a devastating domestic season in 2000, culminating in a sprint finish for the Australian Triathlon title in Mooloolaba, where he was again runner up, Chris was controversially left off the Australian Olympic Team (Sydney 2000) despite being the highest Australian on the world rankings (number 3). He immediately left Australian shores, bewildered at the national selectors' decision to leave him off his first Olympic Team. Disillusioned with Australian racing, Chris relocated to America where he was undefeated for 18 months.

Before moving to Ironman distance races Chris won almost every major short course title on the global triathlon calendar including the ITU World Cup Series, Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon as well as some of the sport's most prestigious triathlon events: Goodwill Games, Mrs T's Chicago International Triathlon, San Diego International Triathlon, New York City International Triathlon and LA International Triathlon. He also became the first triathlete in a decade to capture the US Triple Crown. In 2001, Chris was again crowned Global Triathlete Of The Year and Competitor Of The Year and became the only triathlete ever to hold the USA Professional Championship Title and the USA Sprint Course Title in one season.

In 2002, Macca shifted his focus to Ironman racing. He won Ironman Australia on debut in 2002 and then defended that title in 2003, winning again in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Macca's first race at the distance in Europe in 2003 eventuated in one of the sport's greatest races in Roth, Germany, where Macca was beaten in a sprint finish by Lothar Leder (winner of more than 13 Ironman events). Macca won the event eventually in 2005.

Chris has taken his time to understand what it takes to win the Ironman World Championships at Hawaii. After leading the 2002 race into the second transition, Chris "melted" in Kona's lava field marathon and failed to finish on his first attempt. He finished in 2003 in 9:32:11, a long way back from the winner. In 2004 he again failed to finish and abandoned into a race vehicle driven by six-time World Champion Mark Allen, who counseled Macca to race fewer iron-distance races during the year[1]. In 2005 he was able to finish 6th with the fastest run split of the day. 2006 saw Chris finish Hawaii in second place in one of the closest finishes seen in a long time. After Normann Stadler completed a new course record bike time of 4:18 Chris started the run some 10 minutes down. After running a 2:46 marathon time he was just 71 seconds behind Normann Stadler at the finish but he had given it absolutely everything he had.

He finally became Ironman World Champion in 2007, with a winning time of 8:15:34, including a 2:42 marathon in very hot conditions.


A few months ago I had the pleasure to meet him at an event in Los Gatos. I'm always pleasantly surprised when athletic superstars like Chris are nothing but a class act. There seem to have been so many role models who've been less than stellar lately so it was nice to see someone who still have his priorities straight. Chris was very funny and made everything sound so simple. He reminded me of the "Dalai Lama", whom I'm going to see on Thursday by the way. Chris is slightly less political, and slightly more fit though. He told us about his life as a triathlete, and how he got to this point in his life. If you want to read more about his life you can check him out on Wikipedia. Of the many things he said, one stuck with me more than the others. Someone asked what advise he would give someone who is about to do their first Iron Man. He said: "if you feel comfortable, slow down! But most importantly, don't forget to enjoy it". When I think back at my decathlon career I realize that I wish Chris would have reminded me of this a bit sooner. I was so wrapped up in winning that I forgot to enjoy the moment. I'm so happy that my parents were there to catch it on tape so that I can enjoy it now instead. So, for everyone who is out there living their life, follow Chris' advise: take the time to enjoy the moment!