The best Australian Triathletes in history.. our list

Australia has produced some amazing Triathletes. From the sport's inception into the country it has been embraced and loved by so many. We were sitting round the offices of firstoffthebike.com (ok we were down at the pub talking/arguing this point) and we decided to compile our list of the best Australian triathletes in history. We took into consideration their international record and what they had achieved over their career. So retirement is not a pre requisite for this one! We also crossed all distance boundaries so it was an all in look at who is the best.

firstoffthebike.com's Best Austrlalian Triathletes in History

1. Chris McCormack - The win at Hawaii sealed this place for him. Macca is the most complete athlete that Australia has produced. He has won at all levels and today is still a threat no matter the distance. Fifteen 70.3 victories in the last 4 years says he is all dominant. He has been an ITU World Champion and five time winner of Ironman Australia. Macca has also gone under the magical eight hour barrier in Ironman a swag of times. His list of victories is growing by the weekend.
2. Emma Snowsill - Three World Championships, Commonwealth gold and multiple ITU wins is only the first phase of Emma's impressive triathlon CV. She is about to embark on a her Ironman career and this will no doubt be an interesting study. If she was to stop now though she would have had a great career.
3. Greg Welch - An amazing career cut short. Welchy won a World Title in Orlando and then went on to win in Hawaii in 1994 and finally break the American grip on the Ironman. Welchy was amazing winning all over the world and breaking into the U.S. and writing his own legend there. He was quite the trailblazer and put his stamp on many races world wide.
4. Peter Robertson - He has raced 6 ITU world Titles and his worse result is 6th. It also includes three world titles. Robbo is enigmatic but is always able to peak for the right races. He has a brilliant run leg which he has used to great effect.
5. Michellie Jones - Apart form her brilliant win in Kona in 2006, Michellie got as close as any Australian to Olympic glory with a silver in Sydney. She has successfully made the transition from short course gun to long course master. Michellie also took on the world and showed a very commercial savvy. She is a role model still for younger racers.
6. Emma Carney - Emma was the dominant force in triathlon in the mid 90's. A two time World Champion and ranked number one on the world for four consecutive years Emma had a run leg athletes would dream about. She also has nine national titles that many would dream about too.
7. Miles Stewart - The 12 consecutive national teams aside, Miles won an ITU world title and spearheaded the Australian assault into the tough U.S circuit. The young upstart Stewart was a great personality and showed the Americans the start of the talent pool that now has a permanent place on the U.S landscape.
8. Brad Bevan - Domestically he was an absolute rock star and became a household name in Australia. He was super quick and competitive and also traveled well having multiple top 10 finishes in both ITU and World titles races. His dominance in Australia was the key point here. Brad made many athletes look very average when he was in his heyday.
9. Loretta Harrop - Two Olympic Games, two top five finishes including the heart breaking loss in 2004. But it was success outside of the Olympic Games that puts Loretta into the top 10. Her win in the 1999 worlds was a highlight of a career that saw her dominate when she raced.
10. Jason Shortis - Shorto has a few things going for him on this list. His longevity as an athlete for one and his amazing record at Ironman Australia. He has also won plenty of Ironman races around the world with his devastating run leg. He has not finished yet either with an appointment in Canada this year. He has won races in Japan, Malaysia and Florida and has one of he most impressive records of any current day athlete.

Honorable mentions:

• Jo King, Stephen Foster, Jackie Gallagher, Chris Legh, Craig Walton