Warragul man to compete in Ironman World Championships

A Warragul man has qualified for this year's Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Damien Smith placed 25th overall in the Port Macquarie Ironman race in early May, receiving an overall time of nine hours, 24 minutes, and six seconds. In his category (men 35 to 39 years of age), Smith came in fifth place.
Smith, 37-years-old, has lived in the Warragul area since he was 14. He is employed as a support worker.
"Growing up I was always playing football. That was what I started off with. My brother Daniel, he was doing the Ironman competition before me... and that inspired me to get into it," he said.
Mr Smith started training for the Australian qualifier in December last year and continued to train consistently up until the big day.
"Training would be anywhere from 15 to 25 hours a week," he said.
"The run built up to about 40km, and swimming was 15 to 20km a week... and cycling was on average about 300 to 400kms a week."
This is not the first time Mr Smith has competed in Ironman, however, his last competition was some time ago.
He credits his success this time to feeling healthy and prepared.
When asked why he thinks his strongest section of the triathlon is, he said he does not have one. Instead, he is lucky enough to be consistent across all three areas.
"I think it's hard to pick a discipline that is a real weakness or strength - I'm pretty balanced," he explained.
Mr Smith thanked all his supporters for his success at the Australian qualifier, especially the help he received from two Warragul Swim Club coaches and his brother Daniel.
"Coaches Paul Myers and Andrew Marks, they've been a big part of helping me with my swimming... helping with technique and form," he said.
"I've had a lot of good support, especially from Daniel."
Mr Smith is about to get back into training, preparing himself for the championship in Kona in October.
"I'm really excited about Kona," he told The Gazette.
"It'll be a big challenge... with the course and the conditions - the heat and stuff like that."
"To race against the best will be incredible."