Miles Stewart – Triathlon – 2000
If versatility is the hallmark of a great athlete, Miles Stewart may just be the greatest of them all.
Swimming, speed skating, duathlon, aquathlon, cycling – he won national championships in them all and that’s without even mentioning the sport in which he became a legend.
Triathlon had never seen the likes of Stewart when he emerged on the scene as a 15-year-old. That’s how old he was when he finished third in his first professional event and, within three years, he made his first world championship pro team, grabbing fourth spot amid the sport’s biggest names.
Aged 20, Stewart became the youngest triathlete to be crowned world champion and was the first Australian home when triathlon made its Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Games, finishing sixth. By the time he retired from the international circuit in 2004, he had been selected in the Australian team for an incredible 16 consecutive years, a record unlikely to ever be broken.
In a 2014 interview, Stewart declared his proudest achievement was “being able to improve every year for 20 years” and that commitment to self-improvement has continued in his new life.
A Bond University graduate, he has held a number of senior roles in the property sector and executive positions within the sport he loves including Triathlon Australia CEO and World Triathlon Executive Director.