Full-on life will soon be positively busier

Omanu surf lifesaver Ben Cochrane will move to Australia in December. Photo / George Novak

Juggling the time to be one of the best young Ironman surf lifesavers in the world, with academic and head boy duties at Mount Maunganui College, would be beyond most 18-year-olds.

But spend any time with Ben Cochrane and you realise quickly that he is no ordinary teenager.

The Omanu surf club member has just returned from helping his New Zealand team win a silver medal at the Rescue 2014 world championships in France.

Cochrane's individual performances were top class, winning the tube rescue, claiming second place in the ski race, taplin relay and line throw, third in the Ironman and fifth in the board race.

"I obviously wish I could have placed one or two places better, but to be honest, my preparation could not have gone much better," Cochrane said. "I did 14-15 sessions a week on top of school, on top of head boy duties and maths tutoring two or three people. It was intense.

"I love being head boy. I like to help people, even if it is seeing a kid looking a bit sad and talking to them. I like being a role model because I try to make the right decisions."

In December, Cochrane is moving to the Northcliff club on the Gold Coast, to join Omanu team mate and Black Fins world champion Max Beattie.

He wants to lift his training intensity to try and win the Australian under-19 Ironman, then ultimately qualify for the famed Nutri-Grain Ironman series. Next year he will attempt to become the first athlete to win three consecutive NZ Under-19 Ironman titles after his wins in 2012 and 2013.

Cochrane will also study for an economics degree on-line from Massey University in 2015.

If that is not enough, he has landed a job as a paid lifeguard at Northcliff.

He says saving lives is what all the hard work, training and competing is for.

"My first rescue was when I was at Omanu beach training. This frantic guy said four people needed rescuing who were stuck in a hole in big surf. We ended up rescuing them.

"Once we came in, it kind of all clicked that if we had not done all the training and were not at this pinnacle of fitness, then it may have worked out differently. I have the best chance of saving someone out at sea.

"It is so cool that you can do a sport that is based around saving people's lives. I have learnt so much about time management and it gives you that overall reason to stay focused on going to bed early, not to drink and that positive stuff."