Following strong displays at the Western Sydney 70.3 Ironman held earlier this month, both have been selected to compete at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Taupo, New Zealand next year.
Gray earned his selection after finishing 10th in the males aged 45-49 category, while Peters was eighth in the women's 40-44 division.
Echuca local Gray was also the 90th male of 976 to cross the line, with Peters the 39th woman.
And Gray said he is looking forward to proving himself on the world stage.
“It has always been a goal to get back on the Australian team for a third time,” he said.
“As a kid you always dream of representing your country and to have that honour is something I'll never forget.
“By the time I compete, I'll be 49 so I'll have a point to prove against some of the younger guys in my category.”
Competitors endured a grueling race in NSW which included a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride and 21km run.
But Gray didn't start to struggle until the later stages of the race.
“On the run you can see the finish line so it can play with your mind at times,” he said.
“Throughout the race I felt good probably until there was about two or three kilometres to go - that's when my body really started to tire.
“I'm still recovering now, but I'm feeling a lot better than I thought I would.”
With the race still 12 months away, Gray and Peters have plenty of time to train and they're hopeful several other locals can join them.
“There is still time for people to qualify and I wouldn't be surprised if more people from the area do,” Gray said.
“I do a lot of training with people - and I'm grateful for how they've helped me - so it would be great to be able to race with them for Australia.”
The World Championships will be held between November 28-29 2020.
Local results
Blake Taverna - 5:30.36; Christie Peters - 4:52.52; Darren McKemmish - 5:51.48; David Oman - 6:35.48; Mel McLeod 5:26.10; Michelle Kervin - 5:03.52; Ryan Kervin - 4:33.84; Sophie Baldwin - 6:07.34; Gary George - 5:37.20; Kate Barlow - 5:59.05; Steve Gray - 4:29.08; Scott Foreman - 5:02.49.
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