Good Guy

On the surface, Ironman Guy Leech is a typical Aussie athlete, buff, bronzed and blonde. Underneath he’s on a heartfelt mission to reduce Australia’s 27,000 deaths annually from cardiac arrest.

- Caroline Robertson

I first met Guy Leech at a golf course. His beaming smile and speedy speech were captivating. At 55, Leech exudes the same charismatic energy as in his 1980s heyday. His golden years as undefeated winner of Ironman (seven times), Coolangatta Gold (twice), Uncle Toby’s Super Series, World Ironman Championships, World Ocean Paddling Championships, World Ocean Surf Ski Championships and the 2006 Australian Survivor series show his will to win.

Dubbed Australia’s Fittest Athlete by the Australian Institute of Sport in 1993, Leech still prioritises health. Sports started for him at age six when he began swimming on doctor’s advice to overcome chronic bronchitis. From the age of nine, he competed as a worldclass swimmer before leaving school at 16 to be a professional athlete.

Ironman training was rigorous: “six hours a day, six days a week for six months; then competition for three months”. Leech still exercises every day but he also takes time for family, work and play. “Since I retired from professional sport at 35 I’m still determined but my focus is different. I’m more balanced, stopping to smell the roses and enjoy the journey.”

Today Leech is thriving with a gorgeous wife, two darling daughters, a popular paddling and Pilates business and various charity commitments. But what he’s most buzzed about today is that one of his defibrillators just brought someone back from the brink: “We’ve saved five lives in the past 12 months through our 600 defibs distributed.”

Leech explains what motivates him to promote AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators). “My friend Chucky collapsed at Manly after paddling one morning in January 2016. When you’re looking at your mate’s face and he’s dead and what you’re doing isn’t working, you never forget that.”