RECORD ENTRIES LINE UP FOR THE 2009 nib COOLANGATTA GOLD
September 22: A record 528 competitors from around the world will line up for the ninth staging of Australia's premier endurance Ironman race, the nib Coolangatta Gold, on October 18 2009.
Competitors from every state in Australia as well as internationals from New Zealand, South Africa, France, Wales and Japan will flock to the Gold Coast for next month's epic race.
Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) officials are ecstatic with the response to this year's event - the iconic Ironman torture course, first contested in 1984, which coincided with the making of the famous Coolangatta Gold movie.
SLSA's General Manager of Sport Grant Baldock, said the stories emerging out of this year's nib Coolangatta Gold are inspirational.
"The nib Coolangatta Gold is the ultimate Ironman endurance race on the surf sports calendar and each year we continue to attract people from all walks of life to see if they have what it takes to overcome this iconic race," he said.
"What continues to draw people to this event, is that it is not all about who crosses the line first but rather seeing who can take on the challenge and cross that finish line."
The gruelling 46.65km men's course from Surfers Paradise to Coolangatta and return will see Northcliffe's Caine Eckstein chasing a slice of history - trying to become the first man to win three crowns.
Eckstein (2005 and 2008 winner) and the original Mr Coolangatta Gold, Guy Leech (1984 and 1985) have both won twice with Eckstein a red-hot favourite to etch his name into the history books.
The 23-year-old will be among a record 62 entrants in the open men's division that also includes Dean Mercer, who at 39, has another lease of life and will line up in his seventh Coolangatta Gold to lead the family charge.
Hailing from the Sunshine Coast will be former Sydney Northern Beaches young gun Matt Poole, with the former U19 Australian Ironman looking to go head-to-head with Eckstein.
The men's race will also have a strong international flavour with 29-year-old Frenchman Walter Geyer, a specialist board paddler from the Capreton (near Biarritz) SLSC and South African Jasper Mocke (Fish Hoek Surf) in Capetown , the youngest of the Mocke family paddlers Dawid and Olympian Nikki.
Both will tackle the event for the first time as word spreads around the globe of the epic race that has seen some of the biggest names in Surf Life Saving attempt the testing combination of ski and board paddling, swimming and running.
Three-time winner Hayley Bateup (2005, 2006 and 2008) and Alicia Marriott (2007) will spearhead the women's field of 40
entrants who will cover a 30km course from Surfers Paradise to Currumbin and return, with Bateup chasing a record fourth crown.
Marriott has shifted from her native Western Australia to join leading Sunshine Coast coach and 1991 Coolangatta Gold winner Michael King at Mooloolaba this year, as she chases title number two.
While there are healthy increases in the open divisions the biggest growth areas for the nib Coolangatta Gold 2009 are in the Under 19s, Masters and Teams events - with 222 individual entrants and 306 competitors entered in the teams events - including Olympic swimmers Ky Hurst and Chris Fydler.
In the Masters divisions there will be three "originals" from the 1984 field - including Southport Queensland's Lawrence Reese, 51, who finished second to Leech when thousands of spectators lined the beach 25 years ago to greet the combatants of the historic first race.
Joining Reese will be 1978 Australian Ironman Champion Robert Chapman, and the grandfather of Ironman racing, Alan Coates (Noosa), who at 65-year-old is the oldest competitor in the race.
Another former competitor to return to the iconic race is 1992 Coolangatta Gold winner, Darren Mercer who will paddle the ski in a team which will include his 15-year-old daughter Jordan Mercer- one of Surf Life Saving's rising stars who will paddle a board in team McDonalds from Mooloolaba.
The Under 19 field has grown from five starters when it was first staged in 2005 to be eight times as many competitors in 2009, while the teams has grown four-fold from 20 in 2005 to 80 teams, five years later.
Four teams from the Orewa SLSC on New Zealand's North Island will line up among the 80 teams entered, including two women's teams, with the "Kurrawa Kiwis" littered among the contingent.
"We are continually pleased to see strong growth across all categories in the nib Coolangatta Gold and are encouraged by the number of people travelling from all around the country and overseas," said Baldock.
"This year's event will once again feature the Junior Coolangatta Gold at Surfers Paradise as well as a beach volleyball match on the Sunday.
"As a curtain raiser to the event, Surf Life Saving Queensland will conduct a ‘Fastest Man on Sand' competition on the Saturday which will attract some of the best beach competitors from around the country."
nib COOLANGATTA GOLD RACE FACTS
The nib Coolangatta Gold will be broadcast on the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November from 2-4pm (check local guides).
Previous winners
Men
1984: Guy Leech
1985: Guy Leech
1991: Michael King
1992: Darren Mercer
2005: Caine Eckstein
2006: Zane Holmes
2007: Rhys Drury
2008: Caine Eckstein
Women
2005: Hayley Bateup
2006: Hayley Bateup
2007: Alicia Marriott
2008: Hayley Bateup
Start times
7:00am Open Men
7:05am Masters
7:30am Teams
7:50am Masters Women
8:00am Open Women
8:30am U/19 men
COURSES
Open men, Masters, Male/Mixed Teams
Leg 1 SKI (Surfers Paradise to Greenmount 23km)
2 RUN (Greenmount to Coolangatta 0.65km)
3 SWIM (Coolangatta to Bilinga 3.50km)
4 RUN (Bilinga to Currumbin 4.00)
5 BOARD (Currumbin to Burleigh Heads 5.5km)
6 RUN (Burleigh Heads to Surfers Paradise 10.00km)
TOTAL 46.65km
Open women, Masters, Female Teams, U/19 Men
Leg 1 SKI (Surfers Paradise to Currumbin SLSA15km)
2 RUN (Currumbin SLSC to Currumbin Creek 1km)
3 BOARD (Currumbin Creek to Burleigh Heads SLSC 4.5km)
4 SWIM (Burleigh Heads SLSA to North Burleigh 2.5km)
5 RUN (North Burleigh to Surfers Paradise 7.5km)
TOTAL 30.5km