A will and a body of iron
No one earns a place on the New Year’s Honours list without years of hard work and dedication in a particular field.
From a sporting perspective, though, it is hard to imagine a person putting their body through the wringer more than Cameron Brown.
For 30 years Brown has been involved in triathlon, but it is in the gruelling world of longdistance Ironman events where he has excelled.
Since winning it for the first time in 2001, the 44-year-old Aucklander has become synonymous with Ironman New Zealand.
The ultimate test of endurance combining a 3.8km swim, 180km bike, and 42km, Brown has won the New Zealand event an incredible 12 times - a record for the most number of victories at a single race - not to mention two runner-up finishes at the world championships in Kona, Hawaii.
As he reflected on being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to triathlon, Brown’s thoughts turned to those who inspired him to take up the sport - something he has always tried to aspire to.
‘‘My hero was Rick Wells, who was the 1987 world champion,’’ Brown said.
’’Erin Baker as well, she won Hawaii twice so those athletes inspired me when I was a junior.
‘‘You hope you can inspire the next generation of triathletes to get out there and achieve.’’
Despite being at the tailend of his career, Brown has shown no signs of slowing down.
In winning this year’s Ironman NZ in March, he smashed the Taupo course record with a time of 8:07:58 - more than seven-and-a-half minutes faster than the previous mark set by Bevan Docherty in 2013.