Passion cannot be driven out by one missing leg.

Hamilton man Andrew Hughes, 41, lost one leg to bone cancer when he was 20. This did not stop him from participating in and completing a triathlon at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand over the weekend.

Hughes shrugged off the admiring crowd, saying while he is glad to be inspirational to some people, the truth is he did the entire triathlon for fun. It was his first time to run with crutches.

"The whole running thing is new to me. It's a struggle, it's very hard. You can't go very fast and you are sort of stuck with one speed," he said.

Hughes had never taken part in an endurance running race before the Craig Investment Partners Tinman Triathlon at Pilot Bay this past weekend. He completed the swim, cycle and run sections of the event.

Hughes told the Bay of Plenty Times he did not push himself too hard and just wanted to see how the race went. He further said he was glad to have tried it.

While it was Hughes' first triathlon, he is comfortable with cycling, having won the Oceania Road Championships time trial earlier this year.

Hughes said he normally wears a prosthetic but it was not ideal for a triathlon event. The Times reported he was considering taking part in an Auckland triathlon next week "to see how that goes."