The Sydney Olympics was a game changer for the sport of triathlon, before the event it was very much the poor cousin to track and field, swimming and cycling but the decision to bring it into the Sydney olympics and provide such a memorable telegenic event changed all that. The race, just like the marathon showed the city of Sydney to the world and the world loved it, the drama of the race unfolded leaving the gold medal to go to Canadian Simon Whitfield. This established the triathlon as a higher profile tv sport and led to a substantial increase in sponsorship and overall financial health.

The Mooloolaba triathlon forms part of the triathlon world cup series run by the ITU, bringing together the best triathletes in the world. It is staged every year in the month of March and was held for the 17^th consecutive year in 2009, the men’s elite race being won by Michael England and the women’s by Kirsty Brounn. The race forms the centrepiece of a sports festival that lasts for 3 days and brings spectators from all over the world to stay at a Mooloolaba resort. The world cup race consists of a swimming course of 1500 metres which takes the form of an ocean swim in a rectangular shaped course marked out by buoys in the ocean. Competitors fight the surf as well as generally taking blows from their fellow competitors as each athlete fights for swimming room to swing their arms freely. Having dragged themselves into shore, the competitors now face 40km of cycling ahead of them. 40km is the distance that the athletes cover in the Cycling section of the race, set amongst the beaches of Mooloolaba and Alexandra Headland. The final section of the race pushes the entrants around 4 laps of a track orbiting Mooloolaba, running for 10km in total,. Alex hill provides a stiff test on the running and cycling legs, a steep hill,, it also provides the athletes with a well earned breather on the descent.

The 2009 renewal saw more than 4000 competitors and many more at the other events making up the weekend’s sporting festival. The event is a bonanza for the local tourism industry as Mooloolaba apartments are booked well in advance by spectators and competitors every year. It’s a fantastic weekend for any sports fan, so if it sounds like a great way to spend a weekend in March you really should look to book a Mooloolaba resort right now.

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