"Then I picked up hockey because I'm too short to play the other sports properly," she laughed.
Running is definitely her strongest leg in triathlon.
Earlier in the year she won the Triple Peaks Challenge.
Cameron dived straight into triathlon last year when she "stupidly" entered a half ironman as her first race.
Tri Hawke's Bay club members took her under their wing as she was learning the sport.
Her natural talent coupled with good training saw her complete the Rotorua Half Ironman in an impressive 5 hours 22 minutes.
She completed yesterday's Courier Post triathlon (1300m swim, 42km cycle, 9km run) in 2 hours 36 minutes 45 seconds.
"During the race I question my sanity. Before the race I get encouraged by everyone else and afterwards everyone is so nice. I like the camaraderie," Cameron said.
Karen Toulmin (open) was the first woman home in the standard distance in 2h 10m 48s. She was followed by Linda Exeter-Grant (vet 2) in 2h 18m 26s.
Cameron Paul (open) was the first man home in 1h 58m 54m, with Steve Charles second in 2h 7m 27s.
Faryn Ngawaka (open) was the first in on the Avanti Plus Triathlon course (750m swim, 21km cycle, 4.5km run) in 1h 8m 52s, followed by Bram De Boeck (open) in 1h 14m 4s.
In the women's race it was Claudia Layton (junior) who was first home in 1h 23m 15s, and Teresa Walker (open) was second in 1h 28m 54s.
In the Swim Gym short course (200m swim, 14km cycle, 2km run) Sophie Hogan (junior) continued her strong form, crossing the finish line in 42m 50s.
Second was Brianna Lee (junior) in 45m 55s.
Sebastian Fergusson (junior) was the first male home in 38m 56s and Kairon Pimm (junior) second 44m 31s.
Triathlon Hawke's Bay general manager Mike Bond said all the competitors did well in very windy conditions, which made for a "brutal swim".
