Chris McCormack

Christopher John McCormack (born 4 April 1973), also known as Macca, is an Australian triathlete.

McCormack finished 5th in 1989 and 7th in 1990 at the Australian Schools cross country titles but was pushed by his parents to focus on education over sport.

After graduating in the top 10% of the State, McCormack decided to further his studies completing a Bachelor of Economics degree at the University of New South Wales.

McCormack raced his first triathlon while attending university.

His success was sound and after winning two Australian Junior Triathlon titles.

He raced his first Junior Triathlon World Championships in Manchester, England in August 1993 finishing in 4th place.

His premature celebrations down the finishing chute cost him the silver medal in the race, allowing him to be passed by two competitors.

McCormack graduated from university in October 1995.

After a short stint working in finance, in 1996 he flew to Europe to race triathlons internationally.

Racing for the Tricastan Triathlon Team out of France he had immediate success winning 9 events on his first season abroad, including the World Cup race in Drummondville, Canada, his first race as an elite racer in ITU racing.

McCormack finished his first year as a professional ranked number 9 in the World by the ITU.

He is also the winner of the 1997 International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup Series, the 1997 Triathlon World Championships, the 2012 Long Distance World Championships.

and inducted into the AusTriathlon Hall of Fame for 2023.

McCormack's early athletic career began in primary school where he participated in many team sports.

He joined the school's soccer and rugby teams.

McCormack's high school years were spent at Kirrawee High School in Sydney, where McCormack continued his sporting endeavours winning several distinguished sporting awards including the NSW Sporting Blue for the best athlete in the state.

In 1997, he recorded six top 10 finishes in World Cup racing as well as some dominating performances on the tough French Grand Prix racing circuit.

He finished the year ranked number one, winning both the 1997 ITU Triathlon World Championships and the 1997 ITU Triathlon World Cup, the first male triathlete ever to win both titles (the double) in the same year.

McCormack became the first man in history to ever win the ITU World Championships, The ITU World Cup series and be ranked number 1 in the World in a single season.

McCormack would be ranked ITU World number 1 for more than 26 months in total.

McCormack was left off the Australia Olympic Team for the 2000 Sydney Olympics despite being the highest-ranking Australian in the world (number 3).

He left Australia for the US, moving away from the ITU World Cup racing and into the U.S. racing scene.

McCormack would remain undefeated in the US for 3 years and 33 consecutive triathlon races.

He won the 2001 Goodwill Games race against the top 30 athletes in the world and made clear his disapproval of Australian selector's decisions to leave him off the Olympic Team, dominating short course triathlon racing in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

In 2001, McCormack was again crowned Global Triathlete Of The Year and Competitor Of The Year and became the only triathlete ever to hold the USA Professional Championship Title and the USA Sprint Course Title in one season.

He was picked for the Australian Team to represent at the Commonwealth Games in England in 2002, and won 3 Triathlete of the Year awards for his racing during this period.

Before moving to Ironman distance races McCormack won almost every major short course title on the global triathlon calendar including the ITU World Cup Series, Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon, Mrs T's Chicago International Triathlon, San Diego International Triathlon, New York City International Triathlon and LA International Triathlon.

He also became the first triathlete in a decade to capture the US Triple Crown.

In 2002, Macca shifted his focus to Ironman racing.

He won Ironman Australia on debut in 2002 and then defended that title in 2003, winning again in 2004, 2005 and 2006 to beat the previous consecutive win record set by Pauli Kiuru.

At the 2002 Ironman World Championships at Hawaii, McCormack failed to finish the race on his first attempt.

Macca's first race at the distance in Europe in 2003 eventuated in one of the sport's greatest races in Roth, Germany, where Macca was beaten in a sprint finish by Lothar Leder (winner of more than 13 Ironman events).

He finished in 2003 in 9:32:11, placing 59th.

Macca won the event eventually in 2004, followed by 2005, 2006, and 2007.

He went under 8 hours at Challenge Roth in 2004 (7:57:50), becoming the first non-European to do so.

In 2004, he again failed to finish and abandoned into a race vehicle driven by six-time World Champion Mark Allen, who counseled Macca to race fewer iron-distance races during the year.

He did so again in 2005 (7:56:13) and 2007 (7:54:22).

In 2005, he was able to finish 6th with the fastest run split of the day.

McCormack is a two-time winner of the Ironman World Championship, winning the titles in 2007 and 2010.

In 2008, McCormack broke the 8-hour mark at Ironman in Frankfurt, becoming the first man to go under 8 hours on two different courses.