In 2002, Chris McCormack shifted his focus to Ironman racing. He won Ironman Australia on his debut in 2002 and then defended that title in 2003, through 2006.
Chris has taken his time to understand what it takes to win the Ironman World Championships at Hawaii. After leading the 2002 race into T2, Macca melted in Kona's lava field during the marathon and failed to finish on his first attempt. He finished in 2003 with a time of 09:35:51 in 53rd place. 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. In 2005 he was able to finish 6th with the fastest run split of the day. Then in 2006 we saw Macca finish Hawaii in second place in one of the closest finishes in a long time. McCormack was some 10 minutes down after Normann Stadler set a new course record on the bike (4:18). McCormack dug deep and gave everything he had running a 2:46 marathon only to finish just 71 seconds behind Stadler at the finish.
Then in 2007, after 5 failed attempts he managed to fulfill his long standing dream of becoming the Ironman World Champion in very hot conditions with a winning time of 8:15:34, including a 2:42 marathon.
Focus is part of any successful athletic endeavor, but you could argue it's absolutely paramount to a triathlete - especially one pushing his body to the extreme for more than eight hours in the Hawaiian heat and humidity.
Next month we will see Chris McCormack give it all he's got again at the 2010 Ironman World Championship race in Kona on October 9, 2010.
