TENTH COOLANGATTA GOLD - A CELEBRATION FOR IRONMEN AND IRONWOMEN OF ALL AGES
October 27: The 2010 Coolangatta Gold will see a celebration of the past, the present and the future of Australian Surf Lifesaving.
The iconic event, which started back in 1984 as the Coolangatta Gold Triaquathon, will be conducted for the tenth time in 26 years on Sunday, November 7.
The connection with the past sits proudly on the tanned shoulders of Australia's oldest competitive Ironman, 66-year-old Noosa Heads lifesaver Alan Coates, who lined up in both the first 1984 and 1985 events and will this year contest his eighth Coolangatta Gold.
The present will see defending champions Caine Eckstein and Alicia Marriott chasing their own slice of Coolangatta Gold history - Eckstein for a shot at his fourth Gold title and Marriott for her third - when 211 individuals and 82 teams gather on the Kurrawa shoreline.
No one has won three in a row and Marriott will equal Hayley Bateup as a third time women's winner.
The future will see four 16-year-old schoolgirls line up for their first Coolangatta Gold with Miami High School student Olivia Hall from Northcliffe on the Gold Coast, the youngest in the open women's field.
Olivia will be joined by three fellow 16-year-olds, Jordan Mercer (Noosa Heads), the daughter of former Gold winner Darren and neice of the evergreen Dean Mercer, who is lining up for his eighth Gold; Miranda Davies (Burleigh Heads-Mowbray Park) and Danielle Allen (Alexandra Headlands).
The Mercers have been synonymous with the iconic race since Darren finished second to Michael King in 1991, before winning the race in 1992, which saw Dean finish third.
For Coates, his association with the Coolangatta Gold and Ironman racing, has been an inspiration to generations of Australian Ironmen.
Coates lined up in the first ever Australian Ironman Championship at Coolangatta in 1966, won by Hayden Kenny, father of famed Ironman and Olympian Grant Kenny.
"I guess you could say the Coolangatta Gold has been a big part of my life, I just love it, although the bones and the muscles are starting to feel it a bit," said Coates, who recovered from open heart-surgery to contest the 2005 event.
"Back in 1984 we really didn't know what we were getting ourselves in for I suppose - we were all accomplished Ironmen and had been racing in surf ski marathons and Australian championships all of our lives.
"But when it was announced that there would be a movie about a race from Surfers to Coolangatta and back then our ears pricked up.
"It may have seemed like a daunting task but we were all up for it and started training for this race that would attract thousands of people to the beach and the fact that there was going to be a movie, added to the excitement."
Coates is now a regular in the Queensland and Australian Masters competitions and is the reigning Queensland Ironman Champion in the over 60s division.
This year's re-vamped Coolangatta Gold course will start at Kurrawa, before competitors head to Northcliffe ahead of the 23 kilometre ski paddle down the coast to Coolangatta for the men and Currumbin for the women.
On the return journey competitors will run to Northcliffe, before turning around for the finish at Kurrawa.
The fields will be spearheaded by fields of 59 competitors in the open men; 24 in the open women and 39 in the under 19s.
The Masters fields have been bolstered this year, with an increase in the 40 years and over category which has attracted 57 entries with 24 in the over 30s and nine in the over 30s women's division, making for a total of 211 individuals.
They will be accompanied by 82 teams from all over Australia comprising 284 athletes.
RACE START TIMES - All events will start from Kurrawa Beach
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Sunday 7th November 2010 |
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TIME |
DETAILS |
WHO |
VENUE |
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7.00am |
Race Start |
Teams - Men & Mixed |
Kurrawa Beach |
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7.05am |
Race Start |
Teams U19 Men & Mixed |
Kurrawa Beach |
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7.10am |
Race Start |
Masters Men |
Kurrawa Beach |
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7.20am |
Race Start |
U19 Men |
Kurrawa Beach |
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7.30am |
Race Start |
Teams Open & U19 Women |
Kurrawa Beach |
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7.45am |
Race Start |
Masters Men |
Kurrawa Beach |
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8.20am |
Race Start |
Open Men |
Kurrawa Beach |
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8:50am |
Race Start |
Open Women |
Kurrawa Beach |
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1:30pm |
Medal Presentation to 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each category |
Competitors |
Kurrawa Beach |