Brad Kahlefeldt's motto can be summarized as "no pain, no gain", which is just as well, because triathlon is not for the faint-hearted. There's a reason why they call it the "Ironman" competition.

A 1.5 km swim and a 40 km cycle ride is followed by a 10 km run to the finish line in the Olympic version of the sport, which made its debut at the Sydney Games in 2000.

The race, which typically takes 1 hour and 45 minutes for the top men, is intended to test the limits of human endurance, speed and tolerance for punishment.

Hence, Kahlefeldt's belief that: "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."

The blond-haired, blue-eyed favorite to represent Australia at the triathlon at the upcoming Beijing Games has been priming himself with a mix of seven-day-a-week training sessions and high-level competitions.

Weighing in at 67 kg, the 183 cm athlete gets up at 5am most days, rides for three hours, has breakfast, relaxes for a couple of hours, swims 5-6 km, goes home and stretches, before doing a 45-minute run. On Sundays he takes it easy with just biking and running.

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) ranks him second in the world, behind Javier Gomez of Spain. This gives him some confidence he will attend the sporting jamboree, even if the Australian Olympic Committee has not confirmed his place yet.

Last month he went head-to-head with Gomez at a World Cup event in Plymouth, New Zealand. The Spaniard was too strong in the running section and Kahlefeldt was moved to comment on his website that "he has raised the bar again."

Even so, he reckons that by the time the Olympics rolls around he will be out in front of his rival. Clearly, the New South Wales athlete has a point to prove and will be thinking positively.

The 29-year-old - who was ranked No 1 triathlete in 2006 by ITU and a Commonwealth Games gold medal winner in the same year - isn't about to agree with those who say he has reached the peak of his career.

In a 2007 interview with Sports Tonight he admitted he wouldn't feel like he has succeeded until he lifts one of the two major prizes on offer.

"Last year I ranked No 1, but I've never won a World Championship (or Olympic gold medal). I want to be the best and I'm close."

"Sticksy" as he is known on the circuit has got to seal the deal and if determination has anything to do with it, then he stands a fair chance.

His parents are both marathon runners and though he played other sports at school he specialized in middle to long-distance running before trying his first triathlon in 1993.

He found he was a comparatively weak swimmer, so he compensated by logging up to 60 km a week in the pool. Since then Kahlefeldt has steadily improved and despite various injury setbacks, he has been an elite performer since 2003.

He has already visited the Olympic Triathlon Venue at Ming Tombs Reservoir in Beijing and described the running leg as difficult, with its steep climbs and descents.

At the test event in September last year, the Beijing Triathlon World Cup, it was Gomez once again who shone, while Kahlefeldt could only manage 8th place, trailing by 53 seconds.

Kahlefeldt's Olympic dream took another hammering soon after he caught pneumonia, which infected his lungs and caused scarring.

For a while he thought he might not even be able to make it to the Games, and if he did he might not be competitive.

"It was quite nerve-wracking in the hospital waiting for the full results to come in," he was quoted as saying. "And when they did, the doctor said it may only take six weeks for me to get back to 100 percent and that's what happened."

His times have improved since last year, he said, so there is cause for optimism.

Presently based in the Pyrenees, France, Kahlefeldt will travel to Spain for the Madrid World Cup before heading to Canada for the World Championships.

Australia has great form on the triathlon world stage. Of the 18 World Championships since 1989, Ozzies have won six men's titles and 10 women's titles. It has two Olympic silver medals, so far.

Kahlefeldt will be hoping to go one better and be the first to strike gold for his country in this discipline come August.

(China Daily 05/09/2008 page14)