Gunning shearer Aidan Copp smashed through physical barriers to claim a world shearing record in the Riverina on the weekend.
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The 33-year-old Kiwi shore 524 first-cross lambs in eight hours on Saturday at Gnadbro Station, Collingullie, breaking the 14-year-old record by five lambs.
"It was a bloody tough day," he said.
"...It was a big relief to break the record because I put a lot of time and money into this."
Mr Copp been preparing for the massive feat for almost a year. He was completing regular eight hour days as a shearer followed by 20-kilometre runs in preparation of the day he took the shearing stand.
"I knew I had the fuel in the tank to get me through the day," he said.
But, Mr Copp was hit with a warning during the first leg, which put pressure on his shearing - or risk losing the record.
In the final stretch, Mr Copp said exhaustion and an injury almost got in the way - which he was able to overcome.
"I was throwing up on myself from fatigue. I was getting bad cramps everywhere, so it was really tough. I cut my hand quite badly as well," he said. "But, I knew I could shear a sheep in 53 seconds. It was just a mental game, keeping up the pace and doing one at a time."
A support team was putting magnesium into his body but it was having little effect.
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On Monday, Mr Copp said his body was "a bit worse for wear" but he was happy with achieving the record.
He had to pay $8000 to go for the Guinness Book of Records, fly in judges, build a shearing stand and catching pens to required standards. Mr Copp also had a 15-member support team on hand.
In the lead-up, he was doing 20km runs every second day and doing cardio workouts in Goulburn gyms. It was work he said had paid off.
With the world record under his belt, Mr Copp has his sights set on another challenge.
"I want to get the Merino-wool record and be one of the first to have a record for every breed of sheep," he said.
Former world record holder Dwayne Black was watching the live action, supporting Mr Copp in his effort to break his 14-year streak.
"It takes a brave, courageous man to step up to the plate and do something like this. A lot of people talk about a record, but not a lot of people put it on the line," he told The Rural on Saturday. "It is time to move it on."
Mr Black said shearing takes a lot of athleticism and should be treated as a sport.
"The general public think this is the amount a shearer does each day, but this is more like the Tour de France or Olympics. He has been training for months, preparing the best he can," he said.
"On a normal day, an average shearer would get up to 200 of these sheep - so half".
Mr Copp moved to the Gunning area two years ago. He is married to a local school teacher.
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He has been shearing for 15 years, came to Australia 10 years ago and has shorn all over the country. He has also competed in numerous international shearing competitions and has won more than 50 speed shear titles. These included the NSW speed shearing competitions in 2016 and 2017.
Mr Copp also channels much of his time into teaching young shearers.
"I talk to a lot of young guys and say you don't have to go to the pub after work, you can work on your fitness and achieve something in the industry," he said.
"...I'm trying to be a good role model."
Mr Copp said while many described shearing as a back-breaking job, if people had the right technique and looked after their bodies through stretching, it was possible to stay in the industry longer
"I'll be doing it for a while yet but I'd also like to get into more teaching," he said.
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