Lana Rogers and Ali Day seal Ironman triumphs in Kurrawa finale

Murray Wenzel
Feb 04, 2024, updated Feb 04, 2024

Lana Rogers and Ali Day have been crowned Ironwoman and Ironman champions on the Gold Coast. Photo: HarvPix via AAP

Ali Day won both of the final two rounds of Gold Coast’s Ironman series climax to romp to a fifth title in front of his idol, 10 years after the surf lifesaver won his first.

And Northcliffe’s Lana Rogers was almost as emphatic, claiming third and second-place finishes to net her third Ironwoman title and put an exclamation mark on a dominant campaign.

Surfers Paradise Day champion took another step towards the sport’s legends with a fifth win on Sunday, with Day winning Saturday’s Specialist round and again proving unstoppable in Sunday’s Survival.

Defending champion Matt Bevilacqua began the weekend just one point behind Day but finished 13th on Saturday to drift out of the reckoning, with New Zealand’s Joe Collins eventually pipping him for second overall.

Tweet from @IronSeries

Eight-time champion Shannon Eckstein was a notable face in the Kurrawa Beach gallery.

“Right before the gun went, in the last race, I just went, ‘What would Shannon do?'” Day said.

“I don’t know if it will ever sink in. I won it at 23 for the first time and I am 33 now. Five is an awesome number.

“To be mentioned in the same sentence or calibre as … some of my heroes growing up like Wes (Berg), Cain (Eckstein), Ky (Hurst) and Shannon.

“Shannon was my favourite. He was a professional and I felt like I was most like him in leaving no stone unturned and being professional.

“He was down here today and that added a bit of oomph to me.”

Rogers had a comfortable margin entering the fifth round and added to it with a third and second, while Northcliffe teammate Georgia Miller won both to climb to second overall.

She said the move to Queensland from Sydney had sparked a resurgence after two seasons off the podium that followed back-to-back crowns.

“It hasn’t sunk in just yet; I didn’t think I could beat my (2023) Coolangatta Gold win but this does and it’s very special,” she said.

Attention now switches to the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships on the Sunshine Coast from April 13-21.