Open water swimming can be a challenging sport. So can kayaking or surf skiing, paddle boarding, and running on soft sand.

Combine all those four disciplines together, select a challenging 41.5 km course and you get the Schick Hydro Coolangatta Gold.

The Schick Hydro Coolangatta Gold is a waterman and water woman’s dream race: the English Channel for watermen, the Olympics for waterwomen, the Mount Everest of multi-dimensional marine enthusiasts.

Surf Life Saving Australia hosts the iconic Ironman race in Coolangatta, Australia, made famous by the movie The Coolangatta Gold. The Coolangatta Gold has been conducted 12 times with the 2005 event including Ironwomen, Masters and Teams events for the first time. The event has a Short Course event on Day 1 and the Long Course on Day 2.

The Schick Hydro Coolangatta Gold consists of a surf ski leg, a beach run leg, an ocean swimming leg, a paddle board leg, and a final beach run leg. The 41.5 km course goes from Coolangatta to Miami (via Broadbeach) and returns through North Burleigh, Burleigh Heads, Currumbin and Bilinga and is open to Elite Men and Women, Masters Men (30-39 and 40-49) and Open Team’s for Men and Mixed.

“The transitions from one discipline to another are tough,” describes Steven Munatones. “Compounded by the beach runs in the soft sand and the use of different muscle groups while pushing yourself aerobically makes these competitors true watermen and waterwomen of the highest order.”

*Leg 1: surf ski 23 km
*Leg 2: run 2.1 km
*Leg 3: ocean swim 3.5 km
*Leg 4: paddle board 6.1 km
*Leg 5: run 7.1 km

Ocean swimmer Bruckner Chase will be competing in the Australian classic this November and will be bringing his unique voice to describe the sport from a first-person’s perspective.



Photo shows 2013 winners Ali Day (3 hours 54 minutes) and Elizabeth Pluimers (4 hours 19 minutes).

Copyright © 2014 by World Open Water Swimming Association