BRENT MCMAHON

I am a triathlete. Any way you slice and dice it – IRONMAN, Sprint, Olympic distance, off-road – lots of different distances – one conclusion – swim-bike-run as fast as I can and try to get to that darn finish line the best that I can.

I am an Olympian, World Cup Champion, Xterra Champion, IRONMAN Champion. I have been racing multisport since I was 14 years old – over 20 years of racing – and all with the same great coach – Lance Watson of Lifesport Coaching.

I don’t think I can come up with one race highlight or a favorite event. All of my experiences have shaped me – whether it was earning my way to 2 Olympics (2004 and 2012), the silver and bronze at the Pan American Games, winning my first World Cup or the devastation of not making the 2008 Olympics – competing has been epic and life changing across the board. Travelling around the world doing sport is a luxury. Meeting people around the world is a gift. Racing around the world is a privilege.

I always learned more in defeat than in success and so I suppose moving on from World Cups and leaving the Olympic journey after my last Olympics in London 2012 gave me the momentum I needed to step up and become an IRONMAN 70.3 Champion and 2-time IRONMAN 70.3 North American Champion. 

And now, 70.3 miles just isn’t enough and so I have ventured into the IRONMAN world of 140.6 miles. I brought 20 years of racing and thousands of miles to my first IRONMAN – IRONMAN Arizona 2014. And I won. But for me, it has never been about winning and losing. It has been about the pursuit of excellence. And so I was lucky to have the perfect day winning it by setting a new course record. I broke 8 hours. I posted the fastest time by a rookie. I posted the 15th fastest IRONMAN time of all time. Most importantly, I got to the finishline which ultimately became my singular focus over the last few miles.

 

Now, in 2019, I am a 4-time IRONMAN Champion with wins at IRONMAN Arizona, IRONMAN Brazil, IRONMAN Lake Placid and IRONMAN Canada and I have raced to 5 sub 8-hour finishing times.  I will take that pursuit of excellence into another season. But I will also share my time with my charity partners and with good causes that I meet as I race around the world. I am passionate about getting youth involved in sport, about getting kids riding bikes and about being a role model of honesty and integrity. I will never compromise the values instilled by my parents and I will use those values with every footstep and with every mile.