NO CHANCE TO WATCH AGAIN: IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong proves a challenging start

This is a preview piece – the live broadcast never really got off the ground but you can read all about wins for Jelle Geens and Natalie Van Coevorden here.

The first event of the 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series takes place on Sunday March 23 in the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia with IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong.

Several of the world’s best middle-distance contenders will be on the start line for a swim in Corio Bay followed by rolling bike and run courses to test endurance triathletes to their core.

The men’s race looks packed full of incredible talent with IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Jelle Geens set to battle it out with Australian hopefuls Jake Birthwhistle, Matthew Hauser, Aaron Royle and Cam Wurf, with a New Zealand contingent headed by Sam Osborne and Braden Currie also in attendance.

The women’s event looks set to be a clash between Hannah Berry and Grace Thek, although lurking further down the start list is four-time IRONMAN race winner Teresa Adam.

Date, start time and how to follow live

The men’s race is the first to set off on Sunday, March 23 at 07:30 local time (21:30 CET/ 20:30 GMT/ 16:30 EDT on Saturday March 22), with the women’s race to begin five minutes later at 07:35 local time.

The race will be broadcast live and for free across multiple platforms for viewers around the world and you can follow it live right here without leaving TRI247. Just click on the embed right below here.

You can also follow your favourite athletes on the trusty IRONMAN Tracker App.

Pro Men start list

Eyes are immediately drawn to 70.3 World Champion Geens, who is set to compete in just his seventh middle-distance race (70.3 and T100) – he currently boasts an incredible 83.33% strike rate when it comes to finishing on the podium.

To end the 2024 season, Jelle picked up the T100 Las Vegas crown before heading to Taupo in December to claim the middle-distance world title. The current PTO world number four ranks second in the field in swimming, first in cycling and first in running.

Sam Osborne is the defending champion, having recorded a time of 3:41:27 last year – the third fastest winning time recorded at the event. The Kiwi enjoyed four 70.3 podiums during the 2024 season.

Pro cycling star Wurf adds further spice to an intoxicating mix as he embarks on what is set to be a gruelling journey through the Pro Series calendar. Meanwhile there is an exciting rookie set to line up in the shape of another pro cyclist Jimmy Whelan. He makes his IRONMAN 70.3 bow after switching sports for 2025 and beyond.

Two-time Aussie Olympian Hauser in another interesting addition to the start list as he makes his 70.3 debut. He finished seventh in the individual men’s triathlon in Paris last year and will be joined on the start line by fellow Olympian Birthwhistle. New Zealand Currie can also not be ruled out, he finished ninth on the IRONMAN Pro Series last term and boasts 10 middle-distance wins on his resumé.

Pro Women start list

Thek and Berry have both hoisted the IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong title in the past five years – Thek was the victor in 2023 with Berry taking top honours in 2020.

33-year-old Australian Thek has finished on the podium in seven successive editions of the event following her 70.3 debut at the race in 2018. She competed across the middle-distance spectrum in 2024 and completed 11 races, but was unable to secure the top step of the podium in any of those starts.

34-year-old New Zealander Berry, meanwhile, has already won the Tauranga Half in 2025 and claimed a full-distance victory at IRONMAN Cairns last term.

One name to watch out for who comes into the event in fine form is Regan Hollioake who claimed victory at IRONMAN New Zealand last weekend – making it four wins out of six full distance starts in her career. It was be intriguing to see if she can translate her performance over the middle-distance.

Penny Slater will also be a threat, she finished 10th in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings in 2024 and is the defending IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast Champion.

IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong Course

The swim course on Sunday consists of a 1.9km outing in the waters of Corio Bay with water temperatures of around 18 degree Celsius, so wetsuits are likely to be used. A wave start will be enacted on the beach before a single-loop swim.

The bike course consists of two loops with triathletes spending a lot of the time heading up and down Portarlington Road to the East of Geelong, with a detour along Point Henry Road. Meanwhile, the run leg of the event takes place completely on the Bay shore line on a 2.5 lap course.

Both the bike and run courses are described by IRONMAN as “rolling”, with elevation on both getting no higher than 60m, meaning some fast times may be on offer.

IRONMAN Pro Series 2025

Geelong is the opening stop on a 17-event, 18-race schedule which will venture to Australasia, Europe, North America and Africa. The Series has an end-of-year bonus pool totalling $1.7m, that is on top of the prize money awarded for each race.

Winners of full-distance events will be allocated a maximum of 5000 points for winning, with 2,500 awarded in 70.3 races.

Points for all remaining professional finishers will diminish based on the time deficit to first place at a rate of 1 point per 1 second to the first place finish time.  There is no points minimum, or “floor”. Points will accumulate throughout the season.

The male and female pro with the most points at the end of the Pro Series will be crowned IRONMAN Pro Series Champions. A competitors best five events will determine their points total.

A cool $200,000 is on offer for the series winner on both the men’s and women’s side, with second earning €130,000 and third receiving $85,000. The cumulative payout for the 2025 season is €2,450,000.