Golden Day as Ali top of field

Day has such respect for the Coolangatta Gold that he wanted the toughest race of his career to feel he had earned the honour of having won the trophy more than any other ironman in history.

Day won a record sixth Gold title yesterday, beating his nearest competitor – Surfers Paradise clubmate Max Beattie – by more than 20 minutes after conquering a howling wind and 41.8km of openwater racing in 4hr 1min.

After breaking away from the field in the opening half of the 23km ski leg, Day battled for more than three hours by himself in torturous conditions, a situation that allowed the humble ironman to feel at peace with becoming arguably the race’s greatest winner.

“I wanted it to be tough today,” Day said. “I wanted to be challenged. I really believe I was. Parts throughout that race were tough – mentally, physically, emotionally.

“You ride a wave that whole time of being so high and being so low. For four hours you’re in your own head and I feel like I’ve been getting better at it.”

Day revels in pushing himself outside his comfort zone.

“I love this event. It means the world to me. It’s created who I am, it makes me a better person, it challenges me every year,” he said.

“As an athlete you get limited opportunities to go out and do something you love and I love this event so much.

“I had a crack at it in the under-19s and it broke me. Today I was pretty emotional … I had just tears of joy looking at my dad and my brother and my partner and all my friends that I had there.

“I just can’t believe it really, that a kid that was 18 years old who couldn’t get on the podium and now I’ve got six.

“It was never about the number, it was about being the best I can be and I feel like I did that today.”

Day’s Surfers Paradise clubmate TJ Hendy was forced to pull out during the swim leg with severe cramps that

I WANTED TO BE CHALLENGED. I REALLY BELIEVE I WAS

eventually caused hypothermia as he attempted to rest briefly in the chilly waters between Miami and Burleigh.

“I gave myself a couple of two-minute rests to let the muscles relax but it just got worse and worse and sitting out in the water got me a bit colder as well,” said Hendy, whose body temperature dropped to 34C.

But with the Nutri-Grain ironman series starting in just a fortnight, Hendy said having to pull out about two-thirds of the way through the race may have been a blessing in disguise.

“Recovery time after this will be a bit quicker,” he said.

ALI DAY