Third time lucky in finding his passion

CAMERON Wurf is an Olympic rower turned professional cyclist turned budding ironman star — who might have finally found his true passion.

Having competed in the Athens 2004 Games in the lightweight double scull, the Hobart athlete switched to cycling, plying his trade in Europe and America before a year’s sabbatical in 2015.

The time away from riding saw him dabble in the gruelling ironman, and now the 33-year-old has the iconic Kona firmly in his sights.

Fresh from his maiden top 10 finish as a professional in Cairns earlier this month, Wurf is desperate to continue his rapid progression and earn automatic qualification to Kona, the sport’s holy grail staged in Hawaii in October.

He must improve his world ranking of 74 into the top 50 by the August 20 deadline, with his next chance July 30 in Zurich, Switzerland.

“Cycling, it might have been the wrong team, but for whatever reason I didn’t ever fit in or settle in or get the most out of myself, in the end I was just doing it to get paid and I didn’t like that,” Wurf said on a fleeting visit home.

“Triathlon, every time I get on the start line I just want to kick everyone’s ass. I’m really rough in the swim, it is physical anyway but I certainly give a lot more than I get.

“On the bike I just want to get as far in front as I can and then on the run, I’m hoping I am far enough in front they can’t catch me. I didn’t have that same drive in cycling.”

Wurf enlisted the assistance of Australian triathlete great Greg Welch to help with his weakest discipline — the run — and is seeing marked improvement.

He cracked the top 10 in Cairns by shaving nearly 10 minutes off his marathon time, a remarkable feat in a two month window.

“I didn’t think I would be able to run that quick this soon, it has given me the motivation to really commit even more to this sport and see what I can do,” he said.