Ironman 2021: Matt Burton in mad dash for title of winner and dad ahead of Busselton Ironman race

Next Sunday, December 5, will be a huge day for Perth ironman Matt Burton. He will be in Busselton for the Ironman triathlon to re-ignite his career, stalled for almost two years by the global pandemic. But while the return of the man with the fourth fastest time on the course will take centre stage at Busselton, it could well be his wife Kim and ‘baby’ Burton, right, who ultimately steal the limelight in the race to the finish line. Their first child is due to arrive on race day. “In terms of where I left off in my career, Busselton will always be the race we want to win. It is a home away from home for us and we spend a lot of time down there, so the win is important to both of us,” Burton said. “Kim has always been so supportive of my career and I think if we hadn’t been through the last two years that we’ve had, it might have been different and I would have definitely reconsidered racing. “It is fair say we have had long chats about whether she comes down to the race but ultimately we decided she would stay with her mum in Perth and work with the midwife who has been helping us so far. My mum is coming down to Busselton but with the proviso that ‘if you don’t see me during the race, you will know what is happening’. “I am a punctual person, so I hope he or she comes early, but as the old story goes the baby will come when it wants to and that could be on race day. All I have to do is race on 5 December, I know Kim has the hard job.” The Ironman triathlon consisting of a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride, and a 42km run. Coping with effectively two years out of racing and watching his world ranking plummet, Burton is determined to make it a double celebration and the first step in rejuvenating his career. “I had to sit back in 2021 watching the northern hemisphere going about racing as normal and my ranking dropped from 30 to 180. My current fitness level and ability does not relate to that number,” he said. Disappointing journeys to events in Cairns and the Sunshine Coast reinforced the importance of getting race fit. And that preparation has been driving Burton during the past three months. His preparation has meant three months of 40 hours a week training plus hard racing which takes an enormous toll on the body. “When I got home it was all about Busselton, I was going to race every short course event that is on our WA calendar during heavy training because I needed that match fitness,” Burton said. “At the Sunny Coast it was the stupid little errors and I wasn’t committed to going after it. Now I have raced five weeks in a row in short course, duathlons, Olympic distance, I had a three day stage race in Margaret River to get that feeling of ‘ready, set, go’.”