Ironman athlete Jamie Smith “blown away” by support

Two years ago, Queenstown local Jamie Smith decided he would compete in an ironman triathlon. With help and encouragement from his coach Tony Dodds, he set off to train for the event.

After first investing “a small fortune” in getting set up with all the right equipment, he started to look for sponsors and supporters from the business community. He approached a dozen business, and had “close to” 100% success rate. “I was blown away” he said.

In early March, Jamie competed in the brutal New Zealand Nutri-grain Ironman in Taupo. A mass start for the 3.8km swim, followed by a mammoth 180km bike and then the 42.2km marathon run.

Jamie said “The run was more of a mental challenge than anything, having to endure the brutal 26 degree hot sun with no shelter.”

Jamie crossed the line after 4 hours and 57 minutes. He was thrilled with this result for his first Ironman.

“I couldn’t have done this without my sponsors” he said. ”There are too many to name, but they know who they are and their support meant the world to me.”

Images (Supplied): Local Ironman Jamie Smith in action.