The three days of Ultra-Triathlon racing at UM Australia reached its climax on Noosa Main Beach at midday on Monday with Brisbane athlete Anthony Vlodmans just holding out Bli Bli resident Tony Goodyear for the overall win.
The women’s category had a similar fate with Melinda Cockshutt of Port Macquarie being crowned champion despite being beaten home on the day three run by Claire Ferguson from Townsville.
A field of 36 athletes from seven countries started the event on Saturday morning with their 10km swim and by late Monday afternoon all 36 athletes had completed the 515km of racing.
An epic battle was staged over the final day of UM Australia with the run taking athletes from Noosa to Twin Waters and back.
Tony Goodyear went into the day with a 60 minute deficit and despite a six hour, 52 minute and 35 second time for the 84.3km, Anthony Vlodmans’ seven hour, 19 minute and two second time was enough for him to claim the title of 2024 UM Australia champion.
Event coordinator Jeff Morris said just two athletes missed the 12 hour cutoff on day three, but were reserved the biggest cheers of the day from the huge crowds gathered in front and inside of the Noosa Surf Lifesaving Club.
“It was a nail biting afternoon as Malaysian athlete Kannan Murugasan battled the clock but made it across the finish line with just 24 seconds spare to be able to call himself an Ultraman,” Jeff said.
“Showcasing the best that Noosa and the Sunshine Coast have to offer, athletes and crews touched as far north as Gympie East State School, as far south as Twin Waters and west to Kybong and Kenilworth.
“It wasn’t always serious out there, with athlete Joe Stallard from Bolwarra Hights in NSW taking a slight course detour into Kenilworth Bakery to fuel up on donuts.”
Noosa Main Beach was awash with weird and wonderful sights on Monday afternoon as the athletes and their crews traversed the last 800m along the iconic shoreline.
Coloured wigs, bespoke Hawaiian shirts, and even a gorilla were some of the highlights for 2024.
The event wrapped up on Tuesday 14 May with an awards luncheon hosted at Peppers Noosa Report, where the athletes plus their support crew made up the crowd of nearly 200 people and shared the stories from across the three days of racing, with tears and laughter abounding.
UM Australia plans to return to Noosa from 10-12 May 2025 (date to be confirmed) for the 10th anniversary spectacular.
Applications opened at the completion of this year’s race, with over 40 people throwing their hat in the ring already.
Applications stay open until 14 June and event organisers will announce the 2025 field in August.
For more information visit ultramanoz.com.au
