NEVER before has a Port Macquarie resident won Ironman Australia.
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Now, the name Cameron Wurf will forever be etched into the record books after the 35-year-old set a new course record in claiming the 2019 title.
Wurf (8:06:17) - who now calls Andorra in northern Spain home - claimed the lead race not even halfway into the bike leg and despite Tim Reed's best efforts (8:09:50), he couldn't be reeled in.
He remembered the early days as a toddler and young child where he would visit Settlement City McDonalds to buy a happy meal after receiving encouragement awards at soccer.
But on May 5 there was something even better up for grabs as he ticked off every Port Macquarie landmark along the way.
"I went past where I started little athletics, I passed the pool where I learnt to swim, I went past Lighthouse Beach where I did nippers and surf life saving," he said.
"I went past my school and Flynns Beach where we used to live and the pre-school just down the road."
Wurf admitted it was the only opportunity he would have to win a major race in front of a home crowd and an area that meant so much to him.
"This is the only race that was in my home place," he said.
"It's where I started these sorts of sports - swimming, riding, running and everything else in between; it's a dream come true.
"I'm just so grateful mum brought me here to grow up and have so many opportunities.
"No matter how bad I was she always told me I was a little champion and all this time later I've been able to prove her right."
The former Olympic rower hoped his win "gave the town something to be proud of."
"It's an amazing place for a kid to grow up," he said.
"You get every opportunity you could ever dream of here and I hope there are some kids out there watching that think maybe one day they can win this race.
"I'm going to celebrate it with the town, go and say hello and thank as many people as I can because without their support today, there's no way I would have been here."
2016 winner Reed managed a better time than the one he clocked when he won the race three years ago, but it wasn't enough to reel his good mate in.
He didn't feel there was anything he could have done differently.
"There's always areas to improve, but I think I stuck to my plan really well which is not normally my strength," he said.
"I thought I'd start whittling away the lead on the run, but it just didn't whittle away as quickly as I'd have liked.
"I'd say I ran out of road, but I couldn't have run much further."
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