New Zealand Ironman legend, Cameron Brown, raced his 25th and final Ironman New Zealand as a professional triathlete on Saturday.
The 12-time Ironman New Zealand champion completed the 3.8km swim, 180km bike, and 42.2km run in 8:42:15, placing seventh.
“It was a tough day; when you’re 50, you want to keep up with the young fellas, but it’s really hard now. The game has been lifted every year, but I’m pretty happy with the result. It’s a tough game out there now, and I can’t expect too much at 50 years of age. I’m pretty proud of what I did today,” said Brown.
“It’s 25 years of fantastic memories, and to get seventh today, top 10 at nearly 51, you can’t complain, really.”
A mark of the career Brown has had, a massive crowd welcomed him home along with his wife, Jenny and son, Braeden.
“The first time I watched him come in, I was about (yay) big, and now these days, well, I'm 21. I've been watching him my whole life, and it never gets old”, Braeden said.
“Mixed emotions; my family got me across the line and thinking about my dad; he passed away last year, and just pushing through, there’s so many hard moments you have out there.
"It’s a long time to go through those processes, but you just push on and try and grit your teeth as much as you can and just try and get to that finish line in one piece,” Brown said.
Brown is adamant he will be back to race in the age group categories.
“He will be here forever,” his wife Jenny said.
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