Cameron Brown will look to extend a remarkable record when he
defends his Ironman New Zealand title in Taupo in March.
Brown, 36, is chasing his eighth victory in the race, a
qualifying event for the ironman world championships in
Hawaii.
He is the only male to have won the same Ironman race more
than six times, last year passing a mark established by
sporting legends Dave Scott and Mark Allen in Hawaii.
However, Brown is quick to point out he would trade all his
wins for one victory in Hawaii where he has been on the
podium three times but never atop the victory dais.
"Ironman New Zealand is a key race for me and I have been
privileged to win it seven times," Brown said.
"This one is going to be very special as the 25th anniversary
and I'd love to win it again.
"I know the field will be strong and I've just got to
concentrate on the really big mileage in training right now.
"I'm doing around 35 hours a week right now so it's in the
really tough training phase."
Brown and last year's second-placed Kieran Doe have both
confirmed their entry to this year's 25th anniversary race on
March 7.
Brown has amassed a remarkable career in endurance triathlon,
with eight wins and 20 podium placings in official Ironman
events around the globe over a decade, including second
placing in Hawaii in 2001, and third in 2002 and 2003.
His last two years have been frustrated by foot injuries,
ironically at a time when he and coach Brendan Cameron have
worked hard on improving his bike strength to better tackle
the might of European athletes at Hawaii.
Brown showed he was well over any injury concerns when
finishing second at the recent Port of Tauranga half ironman
despite a time-consuming puncture on the bike.
Doe, 27, is looming as a major threat as he looks to go one
better than last year. He is renowned as a huge trainer but
his plan to race more often this summer was thwarted when he
was forced to run barefoot at Ironman Arizona in December
after shoe issues and then limped home in the defence of his
Port of Tauranga half ironman crown this month with a stomach
complaint.
However, he is back into top quality training and keen to
show that his brilliant runaway victory at Ironman Canada in
2007 was not an aberration.
"It's been a bit frustrating especially when you do all the
hard work and something happens on race day," Doe said.
"I'm really happy where my training is at right now but
there's still a few very big weeks of mileage to go before I
start to taper for Taupo."
There will be no surprises surrounding his tactics in March.
"My strength is my swim and my bike so I will just go for it
again and see if I can build enough of a buffer for the run."
The seeds for the men's race will be announced next week when
the elite field is finalised.
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