Matt Shirvington may have retired from professional athletics in 2008, but he still showed plenty of pace in a sensational race against a V8 Supercar.
In stunning scenes at Sydney Motorsport Park on Friday, the former 46-year-old former Olympian and Sunrise host defied his age in an epic battle of human against machine.
But it was a controversial finish for Shirvington, who took it to former Bathurst winner David Reynolds and his 600-horsepower, 5.7 litre V8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
In his prime, Shirvington was the fasted man Australia and raced in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay.
He won five consecutive Australian 100m titles from 1998 to 2002 and competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, reaching the semi-finals.
His personal best of 10.03 seconds in the 100m made him the second-fastest Australian sprinter for nearly two decades.
Sunrise host Matt Shirvington took on V8 Supercars driver Dave Reynolds in a race on Friday
In his prime, Shirvington was the fastest man in Australia and competed at the Sydney Olympics in 2000
Reynolds is a former Bathurst winner and a fan favourite in the V8 Supercars Championship
After retiring from athletics, he transitioned into media, becoming a sports presenter and commentator.
He joined Seven News as a sports anchor and later replaced David Koch as a co-host on Sunrise in 2023.
Reynolds is a fan-favourite Australian Supercars driver known for his charismatic personality.
He won the 2017 Bathurst 1000 with Erebus Motorsport and has raced for teams like Tickford Racing, Kelly Racing, and Penrite Racing.
And the two came together for the incredible race on Sunrise on Friday, with the result almost too close to call.
‘This is the race the stops the nation,’ roving Sunrise reporter Katie Brown said, as Reynolds revved his engine and Shirvington went into his starting stance.
As both Shirvington and Reynolds thundered over the finish line, viewers were left clueless on who had claimed the win.
‘Who won?’ Brown asked sports presenter Mark ‘Beretts’ Beretta. ‘Who do you believe won?’
Shirvington bolted out of the blocks quickly as Reynolds missed the start to surrender the lead
But the grunt of the V8 meant Reynolds soon caught up and it was a photo finish between the pair
Beretts couldn’t make a call either, forcing a video replay to determine the victor.
‘Shirvo was in front but I think Dave Reynolds might have pipped him on the line. We need a super slo-mo replay to decide this one. That was incredible,’ he said.
An exhausted Shirvington said he thought victory was assured until Reynolds car appeared next to him on the finish line.
‘I honestly liked turned around and said, ‘Where he is he?’ and he was like ‘pow’,’ he said.
And then presenter David Woiwod revealed the result of the video replay, which could not split the competitors.
‘The ruling has just come in from the stewards. I think he’s been pipped,’ Woiwod said.
‘The stewards have told us it is too close to call. So what are we doing? Is it a draw?’
Bereets confirmed: ‘It’s a draw. It’s a draw.’
Shirvington then showed he still hates losing just as much as ever.
‘What? No! No!’ he said, and then stormed off as Reynolds celebrated.
Woiwod said: ‘He doesn’t like losing, does he?’
Sunrise co-host Natalie Barr added: ‘This is what we were worried about.’
Reynolds acknowledged his poor start and hoped to avoid a repeat as the Supercars championship season begins this weekend.
Shirvo then presented him with a magnum of Shirvington Shiraz and a trophy.
‘I don’t care that I lost. My hamstrings and Achilles are intact. I can enjoy the weekend and watch the Supercars coming up tonight,’ Shirvo said.
