The organisers of Australia’s biggest triathlon have been forced to cancel the swim leg of the race for the first time in the event’s history after multiple shark sightings over the weekend.
The Noosa Triathlon is the largest Olympic-distance triathlon event in the world, drawing more than 13,000 competitors to the Sunshine Coast town over the five-day festival.
In an update posted to the event’s Instagram, organisers warned Sunday’s swim course would be altered “due to marine life sightings” which closed Noosa’s Main Beach for periods on Saturday.
They hoped an “M-shaped” swim bringing athletes closer to the shore would allay safety concerns, but an updated post published Sunday morning stated “due to marine life present … the swim will not be taking place”.
Noosa Triathlon spokesman Craig Heydon said the decision was made to cancel the swim altogether as there had been a number of shark sightings over the last few weeks and days, with some animals sighted within the race’s swim perimeter.
“[The race has] a 1.5 kilometre swim, which goes a couple of 100 metres offshore, and the animals [sighted] were within that space,” Heydon explained.
“So the decision was made that it wasn’t safe to put swimmers in the water today.”
This is the first time the swim leg has been cancelled in the event’s 43-year history.
“We obviously had quite a lot of rain in recent weeks, which might have been part of what led to having them in the water,” he said.
“But from an event perspective, the team was able to pivot really quickly, and our athletes are still out on course now and having a great day.”
Competitors in the event’s elite race started at 6.15 am on Sunday, swapping the 1500-metre swim with a five-kilometre run, followed by a 40-kilometre ride and a 10-kilometre run.
For the age group athletes who make up the majority of the race, the swim component was swapped for a short beach run.
“[Athletes] put a lot of training into these events, so they would have liked to be able to do a triathlon,” Heydon said.
“But they’re certainly very understanding of the reasons why the decision was made today.”
Despite the disruptions, Australian triathlete Matt Hauser defended his Noosa Triathlon title, claiming victory on Sunday with a one hour, 39 minutes and 34 second finish.
“You have to keep adapting to situations and changes, and we had to make of it what we could and the crowd got a kick out of it,” Hauser said of the 45-minute notice of the race changes.
“It’s Noosa, you have to do the race justice and give it a crack.“
Fellow Paris Olympian Luke Willian finished in second place (1:42:59), followed by US racer John Reed.
Fellow Paris Olympian Natalie Van Coevorden claimed the women’s title, surprising herself in what was her first race over the distance since the 2024 event.
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