Former New Zealand All Blacks rugby union star Liam Messam took on a new challenge on Saturday, every big as those he overcame during his stellar career on the pitch. This time in the sport of triathlon.
It’s fair to say the 40-year-old forward, who represented his country 43 times, aced his new test as he successfully completed the brutal hurdles presented by IRONMAN New Zealand 2025 in Taupō.
Messam had to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and after all that, finish the race by running a full marathon (26.2 miles). A total of 140.6 lung-bursting, energy-sapping miles.
Liam, urged on by a huge local crowd every step of the way (a fact he would later reference in post-race interviews), crossed the finish line in a time of 12:17:06 – completing his first full-distance triathlon.
Kiwi professional Mike Phillips had claimed pro race glory more than four-and-a-half hours earlier, but for the 6″3, 17 stone Messam, crossing the finish line was all that mattered. He placed 26th of 54 in the M40-44 age group, 268th of 592 in the men’s category and 328th of 774 overall.
“Liam, you are an IRONMAN”
Used to competing for 80 minutes, Liam had to maintain his physical conditioning for more than nine times that period in his gruelling effort to become an IRONMAN.
The Kiwi completed the swim in a time of 1:13:13 before spending over 10 minutes in transition to prepare for the cycle leg. He put on an impressive display on the bike – completing the 112-mile slog in 5:44:18.
The marathon run was a real test for Messam as he completed the 26-mile course in a time of 5:01:28. Following the mammoth achievement, he said: “I wanted to test myself physically and mentally, and I certainly did that. I am never ever coming back again.
“The support here in Taupō was unbelievable, I don’t think the fans understand the extra energy they give us to get over the finish line.”
Good news for the former All Blacks star as he achieved both his goals in the race – completing the course and not catching the “IRONMAN bug”.
Racing to keep up: Is social media making us train harder?
