A fundraising campaign has been established for the wife and sons of Dean Mercer after the ironman champion died suddenly from a heart attack.
The 47-year-old two-time national ironman champion died while driving on the Gold Coast on Monday morning, shocking the surf lifesaving community across Australia.
Mercer is survived by wife Reen and their four sons - aged six to 13 - with a GoFundMe page established on Tuesday to raise money for the boys.
Family spokesman Ian Hanson is hoping the tight-knit surf lifesaving community will rally to support the campaign.
"Can you imagine if every Aussie lifesaver donated $10? How good would that be? A call to arms for one of our own," Mr Hanson said.
Mercer and his older brother Darren were synonymous with surf life saving through the 1980s, 90s and 2000s, while niece Jordan is the current national ironwoman surf series champion.
The grieving Mercer family described Dean as a loving husband and devoted father.
"He will go down in history as one of Australia's greatest ironmen who represented both NSW and Queensland and wore the green and gold of Australia," they said in a statement.
Plans for Mercer's funeral or memorial service are yet to be announced.
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