In this episode of The Greg Bennett Show, Greg Bennett chats with Ky Hurst. Ky is one of the greatest endurance athletes the world has ever seen.
For 24 years he has competed as a professional athlete across three sports.
He stormed onto the Australian sporting scene as a teenager winning his first of four Ironman Superseries titles at the age of 17. He went on to win Seven Australian IronMan titles, and 30 Australian Surf titles, he was inducted into the Surf Life Saving Hall of Fame and is known as one of Surf Lifesaving's greatest ever all-round competitors.
He went on to represent Australia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics & 2012 London Olympics in the 10km open water swim. He was 2nd at the 1998 & 2011 World Championships for his 5km open water swim. He won ten Open Men's Surf title’s from eleven starts, solidifying in many experts mind that he is the greatest surf swimmer the world has ever seen.
In recent years he has transitioned to his 3rd professional sport, sailing, competing for Oracle Team USA at last America’s Cup. He’s now a member of the Australian SailGP team who in 2019 won the inaugural season and the $1 million winner-takes-all championships.
In this episode, Ky discusses his involvement in the professional Sailgp series and what it's like being in a team sport after 20 years of racing as an individual.
Ky discusses his early years and the influence of his entire extended family with water sports. He shares his journey and his process from Surf Ironman to Olympic swimmer and professional sailor. His physical and mental preparation is remarkable, and Ky shares some of his epic workouts in the pool.
Finally, Ky discusses his interest in the sport of Triathlon and how he hopes to do his first Ironman 70.3 in 2021.
Fun Fact: Ky Hurst has a lung capacity of 10.2 Litres, the average man has 6 liters.