Currie (31) won the Santa Cruz event in a sprint finish over American Ben Hoffman.
It was a tough race and Currie laid it all on the line, virtually collapsing as soon as he broke the tape at the finish line.
He beat Hoffman by one second, clocking a time of 3hr 33min 57sec in what was a display of fierce running. The event comprised a 700m swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run.
Currie had spent the past nine weeks in a gruelling training regime in Noosa in Australia and said he is now as fit as he has ever been.
The swim was cut down to 700m due to fog, and although that aided those athletes who did not prefer time in the water, German cyclist Andi Boecherer came out of the water well and then raced into the lead on the bike.
Boecherer was more than four minutes clear at the end of the 90km bike leg, but a chasing group of seven athletes, including Currie and Hoffman, quickly went out to hunt down the German.
Hoffman and Currie caught Boecherer with about 5km left and it then became a drag race between the duo to get to the finish line.
Currie used his brain and brawn to grab the victory.
‘‘It was pretty close there at the finish. It was a steep descent at the end going down on to the beach. I managed to cut him off going into the finishing chute,’’ Currie said.
‘‘From there it was about 50m-100m to the finish. There wasn’t much chance he was going to pass me. By that stage it is not really a sprint finish. You haven’t really got the energy for a sprint finish.
‘‘I had a really good run. I felt really good and as fit as I have ever been. I think that is a PB [personal best] by a couple of minutes.’’
Currie said his cycling, though, was not as good.
‘‘It’s just not quite where I wanted it to be ... I just need to have the ability to be able to control surges from other riders.’’
Currie is targeting the World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii, next month, the biggest race on the Ironman calendar.
He took some real belief out of the win in Santa Cruz.
‘‘The guy who I had a sprint finish with, he has come third and then second in Kona. Tim O’Donnell, who came third today, came second at Kona a couple of years ago.
‘‘I’ve got to be able to make myself be up there and be prepared. It is a mix of excitement and nerves now as the race gets closer.’’
He would now head to Boulder, where he would do some altitude training to get ready for the race in Kona on October 15 (NZ time).
The Kona race is a 3.86km swim, a 180km cycle and a 42.2km run.
