“Look at this, Dean Mercer hangs on”.

For all the great moments in Thirroul surf lifesaver Dean Mercer’s career, the 1995 Australian championship triumph probably defines him best. Here’s Mercer jumping off the board and pumping his legs up the beach as fast as they would allow, the colossal figure of Trevor Hendy in hot pursuit.

Hendy had come into the race underdone, but his remarkable ability and proven experience would have been unbeatable, if not for the sheer determination of Mercer. It was a desperate scrap, two elite talents with the internal fuel tank on empty, before Mercer jumps for sheer joy at holding off his great rival.

Back home in Thirroul and across the northern Illawarra, family, mates and punters were watching the television, doing the same in the lounge room or at the bar.

In the following two years, brother Darren kept the Australian title in the family, during a truly golden era of the ironman. But Dean’s first Australian championships success came in 1989. 

Hendy won the previous two and the next three, including the 1990 event held at North Wollongong.

And while the Coolangatta Gold win he coveted eluded him, Mercer leaves a mighty legacy in Illawarra sport.

He counted Ron McKeon – the Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer as a mate and training partner and paved the new generation of star like Wes Berg and Josh Minogue.

And so the Illawarra surf lifesaving community will gather this week to reflect on Mercer’s magic moments like in 1995.

A beer or two to reminisce the little bloke with a giant competitive will.