Sports Performer Awards

Great by (nick)name and nature

Craig Alexander

CONSIDER a marathon swim, say 3.8 kilometres of choppy warm water, being pummelled by rivals' thrashing elbows and legs. No wetsuits for buoyancy. Exhausting? Yes.

CONSIDER a marathon swim, say 3.8 kilometres of choppy warm water, being pummelled by rivals' thrashing elbows and legs. No wetsuits for buoyancy. Exhausting? Yes.

Consider then a professional cycle stage, typically 180km, but instead of climbing up and down steep mountains, pedal just as gruelling across lava fields, with the radiant heat way beyond the air temperature of 30 degrees and extreme 80 per cent humidity sapping both energy and air.

And then, what the hell, run a marathon with the wind howling in your face, sometimes so strong it throws you off stride or swirls menacing around your legs.

Cronulla's Craig Alexander did all of this, conquering the doubts of his mind and pushing his finely tuned body through the famed Hawaiian Ironman. But this year Alexander, who won the last year's race, achieved a rare feat: back-to back wins, with a sterling triumph in this year's race. No wonder his sponsors call him ''Alexander the Great''.

By any measure, Alexander is a true athlete and a true champion. He should be considered a worthy winner of the Sports Performer of the Year awards, presented by Colonial First State, if only for his persistence, his fitness and, yes, his madness.

Remember those haunting pictures of that wobbly woman, Julie Moss, weaving, staggering, falling and then, quite remarkably, crawling and dragging herself across the finish line of the Hawaiian Ironman back in 1982?

Alexander is not like that. He completed eight shorter triathlons this year before tackling Hawaii. Every day is intricately planned: his training, his diet, his time with his family, wife Neri and two young children. He is mega-prepared.

When Alexander first raced the Hawaiian Ironman in 2007, he had a dodgy knee, yet he surprised the triathlon world, finishing second.

For Alexander, pitting himself against the elements and his fierce rivals is his job. By his own super-lofty standards Alexander is at the pinnacle.

After his first Hawaiian Ironman triumph last year, he alluded to striving for multiple victories. In winning his second Hawaiian Ironman, he has put himself alongside the long-standing gurus of the sport: six-time winners Dave Scott and Mark Allen, and Tim DeBoom as the only men to double up in Hawaii's 32-year history.

In this year's race though, Alexander had to dig particularly deep to overcome his rivals. He was well back after the bike leg, in 10th position, and he had to claw back positions over the final few hours of the race.

The initial leader, American veteran Chris Lieto, was more than five minutes ahead but Alexander finally caught him with seven kilometres of the marathon remaining. Alexander had run the fastest marathon leg to bring about the sweetest feeling - crossing the finish line first.