Brendan Sexton.
In 2009 Brendan Sexton became the first home-grown athlete to take out the Maitland Triathlon.
Two years earlier Sexton was crowned Maitland Sportsperson of the Year after claiming a silver medal at the 2007 World Triathlon Championships in the under-23 division.
And prior to that Sexton was doing the rounds at Maitland Triathlon Club, Maitland Swimming Club and Maitland Grossmann High School.
Now, the 26-year-old who grew up at Louth Park has been nominated for the Australian triathlon team to contest the London Olympics.
The official announcement is due to be made later this week but Sexton has been given the nod and in a little over two months will live out his dream and wear the green and gold at the Games.
“My main focus is London,” Sexton told the Mercury after taking home the 2007 Maitland Sportsperson of the Year award.
The news about Sexton, now based in Melbourne, came to light over the weekend when two-time Hawaii Ironman champion Chris McCormack revealed on social media that he had missed out on selection for the Games.
“Back to my day job,” McCormack said on Twitter.
“I need a Hawaiian holiday again soon.
“No London for me but happy for the team we picked – solid, deserving athletes.”
Sexton, McCormack and Courtney Atkinson had been locked in a three-way battle for the remaining two spots on the national team after Brad Kahlefeldt had already been guaranteed one of the three Australian positions for London.
Sexton had struggled with form in recent times, especially his swim leg, with poor showings in the Madrid and San Diego races of the ITU Triathlon World Championship Series after taking out the ITO Oceania Championship in Davenport earlier this year.
But selectors have opted for a younger team in London, which will signal the fourth time triathlon has featured at the Olympics since debuting in Sydney, 2000.
An appeals period is now open for the Olympic squad but when closed Sexton will be part of the men’s national team that takes to the Hyde Park course on August 7.
The women’s race will be held three days
earlier on August 4.