Wollongong cyclist Cameron Butcher competes in Australian Transplant Games after heart transplant

Wollongong cyclist Cameron Butcher likes to say he has nine lives.

After he had a pacemaker installed in his early 20s, he recorded the eight times it saved his life.

The first came at just age 22 when the device shocked his heart back into rhythm as he lay unconscious on the grass after picking up a frisbee.

Things became even more serious when he experienced four shocks in the space of 10 minutes.

"The heart kind of just gave out and I was put on the transplant list," Mr Butcher said.

Nearly two years on from his heart transplant, the 26-year-old elite cyclist is the fittest he's ever been and is competing in the Australian Transplant Games which kicked off in Launceston on Saturday.

The long road to a diagnosis

As a 20-year-old, Mr Butcher was mountain biking and road racing around Australia until he was struck down by severe fatigue.

He was initially misdiagnosed with poor liver function, but over time his symptoms continued to worsen.

"They found I was having three seconds between heartbeats and my left ventricle, which is the one that sends blood out to the rest of the body, had become really inflamed and enlarged and wasn't doing its job," he said.

Tests revealed Mr Butcher's heart was working at about a third of normal capacity.

A pacemaker was implanted but his heart began to fail.

Confronting his mortality at 24 was something he never expected.

"Getting that diagnosis of heart failure was probably the best thing that happened to me because for two and a half years I was trying to work out what was wrong," Mr Butcher said.

"I died eight times, so I always tell people I have nine lives."

Remarkable recovery

Less than five weeks after his transplant, Mr Butcher was back on the bike.

"The first week [after the transplant] wasn't too pleasant," he said.

"But by the second week I was up [walking] and about doing 15 laps of the ward per day.

Within six months, he won the mixed relay section of the 2025 Peoplecare Triathlon in Wollongong.

He also placed second at the 2025 Road Nationals in the transplant category, and won his age group in the 60-kilometre Willo Mountain Bike Race in March.

Celebration of life

The biennial transplant games is an Olympic-style sporting event for those who have undergone a transplant.

They were first organised by British transplant surgeon Dr Maurice Slapak in 1978 after he became inspired by a kidney recipient he ran with.

Chief executive of Transplant Australia Chris Thomas described the event as a celebration of life.

"They're people who were really once at death's door contemplating their future and then miraculously, someone has given them an organ to enable them to live.

"It's a really good opportunity to bring our community together to learn from one another."

Mr Butcher will be competing in cycling, tennis, swimming and six-a-side soccer.

"I'm really competitive about the cycling stuff, but the other stuff's just a bit of fun and never been to Tassie before," he said.

The games will run until October 3.