The Seaspray Surf Life Saving Club member competed in his first Coolangatta Gold ironman event on the Gold Coast, finishing 42nd out of 55 competitors in a time of 4:56 hours.

"I did better than I expected,'' Lazzaro said.

"I was only 56 minutes behind the record time (set by winner Caine Eckstein).''

The 46.66km event began at Surfers Paradise, with competitors heading 23km to Coolangatta on a surf ski before run, board and swim legs back to Surfers.

Lazzaro, 27, was only one of two Victorians to compete in the event.

For more, read Friday's Gippsland Times.