Gregory John Welch (born in 1964 in Campsie, Sydney), known as Greg Welch, is an Australian

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

. He is known for having won "The Grand Slam", which includes the

ITU Triathlon World Championships The World Triathlon Championship Series is World Triathlon's annual series of triathlon events used to crown an annual world champion since 2008. There are multiple rounds of competitions culminating in a Grand Final race. Athletes compete head ...

(1990), The Ironman World Championship (1994), the ITU Duathlon World Championships (1993) and the Long Course Triathlon World Championship (1994). Greg was an ambassador to the

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...

(United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in 2000. Due to his being diagnosed with

ventricular tachycardia Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach or VT) is a fast heart rate arising from the lower chambers of the heart. Although a few seconds of VT may not result in permanent problems, longer periods are dangerous; and multiple episodes over a short perio ...

, he has undergone nine open-heart surgeries from 2001 until 2003 and has retired from sports. He maintains contact with triathlon through his work as an advisor, coach and commentator with the World Triathlon Corporation. He is married to fellow Ironman triathlete Sian Welch.

References

External links

Official website

1964 births Australian male triathletes Duathletes Ironman world champions Living people Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century Australian people 21st-century Australian people Sportspeople from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales {{Australia-triathlon-bio-stub