Luke McKenzie

Luke Jarrod McKenzie, born on 26 July 1981 in Taree, New South Wales, is an Australian professional triathlete who specialises in long distance, non-drafting triathlon events. His best known result came at the 2013 Ironman World Championship, where he led the race until about mile 16 of the marathon before being passed by the eventual champion Frederik Van Lierde, and held on to finish second. By then he had already won six Ironman races. He grew up playing cricket, water polo and golf, first became interested in triathlon after volunteering at an aid station at Ironman Australia as a child, and joined a triathlon squad after his family moved to the Gold Coast when he was 13. He trained at Australia's national triathlon performance center alongside Mirinda Carfrae, Emma Snowsill and Annabel Luxford, placed third at the 2001 ITU World Junior Championships, and later moved to Carlsbad, California with Craig Alexander to concentrate on non-draft racing.