40 years young

In October 1983, Dave Power and his friend Joe Gilbert together with the Noosa Heads Lions Club, staged the first Noosa Triathlon. Originally setting out to start a Marathon, Joe and Dave spent numerous weekends measuring traffic counts and flows to find a 42.2km course. Proving challenging to find enough sealed road in Noosa, a new sport of triathlon was just gaining momentum at the time. With a 10km run leg it was much more achievable and the idea of Noosa Triathlon was born. 

180 athletes toed the line that first year - helmets were optional, wetsuits were banned, and cyclists got lost on the course... but Noosa Tri was born and it quickly became the sport’s spiritual home in Australia. 

Competing in the first Noosa Triathlon, Noosa local Garth Prowd became involved in the fledgling event in the years following. Fondly referred to as the godfather of Triathlon in Australia, Garth had a grand vision for the event and evolved it from a humble community event to the juggernaut it is today.

Noosa Tri now lays claim as the largest Olympic distance triathlon in the world and is consistently ranked in the global top-ten triathlons by athletes. And in 2023, we will be celebrating 40 Years of the event. 

The 5-day festival – which includes 11 events in all – hosts over 13,000 competitors supported by tens of thousands of spectators. Since 2018 hundreds of thousands have been able to watch all the action of Super Saturday and Noosa Tri live on its various national and global channels.

It’s no wonder athletes, legends, celebrities, and supporters flock to Queensland to be a part of the magic of Noosa Tri.