Some of the Australasia region’s top long-distance triathletes will line up for the 15th anniversary edition of IRONMAN Cairns this weekend, battling it out for a share of the $100,000 USD prize purse and looking to secure one of the two slots per gender on offer for the world championships in Kona.
There may not be any Europeans in the mix, but the Australians, New Zealanders and Japanese athletes are joined by one American in what still promises to be an intriguing battle.
There are four world championship places up for grabs – two per gender – and the race will definitely be on for both fields to secure their invitations to the Big Island in October.
Here is all you need to know about the race…
Start times and how to watch live:
The pro men start things off at 07:37 on Sunday, June 14, with the pro women following at 07:42. A rolling start for the age-groupers will begin at 07:50.
Around the world, this start time equates to 22:37 on Saturday in the UK, 23:37 in Central Europe, 17:37 on the East Coast of the USA, 16:37 in Central USA, and 14:37 on the Pacific Coast. In New Zealand, the men’s race gets underway at 09:30.
You can watch IRONMAN Cairns live and for free globally on the IRONMAN Now Channel on YouTube, the official IRONMAN Pro Series hub, or DAZN. US and Canadian viewers can also use Outside TV.
Pro men – Burton looking for another win
Matt Burton is the only returning IRONMAN Cairns champion, a title he impressively won two years ago after nearly losing his right foot to infection just months before.
“Events of two years ago have been at the forefront of my mind; I had a career-best day. Given the three or four months I had prior, with the foot infection, it still comes as a bit of a shock,” said Burton. “Doing something once is fantastic, but for me, doing it twice is confirmation personally that you are good enough and that you deserve to race in that style and that fashion.”
Consistent form has been hard to come by for the Perth athlete since then, but a fit and healthy Burton is a force to be reckoned with on any day.
“If I thought that those three months were hard, the last two years after winning here in 2024 have probably been the most challenging athletically during my professional career. Everyone goes through different periods, and a lot of people may question why I’m still here at the ripe age of 38, but I’ll stop when I start getting slower, and for now, I feel in great shape and ready for whatever the conditions are and ready to do it again,” he added.
“I’ve had one of the most enjoyable six months of training over the 18 years that I’ve been in the sport. Particularly, the last six to eight weeks since I’ve been home from South Africa, I’ve just had a very consistent, strong period of training. I have a great blueprint from two years ago, so I followed a very similar plan, and I’ve come over to Cairns at a very similar time.”
Burton’s fellow West Australian Nick Thompson will likely start as favourite to win this year’s men’s race following a breakout season last year that saw him finish second at IRONMAN Cairns, seventh at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France, and fourth overall in the IRONMAN Pro Series – earning Thompson a healthy $70,000 USD year-end bonus.
Thompson and Burton are two of the strongest bikers in the men’s field, and along with former professional cyclist Ben Hill, they’ll be hoping to put as much time into New Zealand’s Jack Moody as possible over the 180km ride along the Captain Cook Highway, with the Kiwi’s run one of the best in the field.
Other athletes to keep an eye on in the men’s race are Australia’s Caleb Noble and Japan’s Jumpei Furuya, who finished second and third, respectively, at December’s IRONMAN Western Australia Asia Pacific Championship, American Colin Szuch, and New Zealand’s Ben Hamilton.
Pro women – Hollioake looking for better
In the women’s race, Regan Hollioake will wear the number one bib, looking to add a fourth IRONMAN triathlon title to her name. Hollioake finished fifth in Cairns last year and is excited to return to the race in paradise once again.
“I’ve managed to get through some really solid work these past few months since IRONMAN New Zealand and have got on top of a couple of health issues that were holding me up earlier this year,” said Hollioake. “IRONMAN is all about consistency, and the work has been solid and consistent.
“This is a race I’ve been looking forward to all year – it’s, in my opinion, the best race on the calendar, so I’m really looking forward to celebrating and showing off the training I’ve done on race day.”
Since finishing fifth at ANZCO Foods IRONMAN New Zealand in March, Hollioake has raced two middle-distance triathlons – but says she can’t wait to get back to racing an IRONMAN, calling the 226-kilometre distance her “true love”.
Canberra’s Penny Slater will be hoping 2026 is the year she puts together a complete performance at IRONMAN Cairns, having raced here four times previously, with a trio of fourth-place finishes and one podium.
“Cairns is definitely my favourite IRONMAN course with the beautiful but very honest bike course and the best run atmosphere in the world,” said Slater. “I’ve had some okay races in Cairns, but I’ve never quite had the performance or result I was after, so I think that keeps me coming back.
Two other returning athletes who have finished in the top five previously at IRONMAN Cairns include New Zealand’s Rebecca Clarke and Australia’s Kate Gillespie-Jones, a former professional AFLW player.
All athletes in the professional women’s field, with the exception of Hollioake, will be racing for one of the two IRONMAN World Championship slots on offer, making for a highly competitive race come Sunday.
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FIELD
Nick Thompson (AUS)
Jack Moody (NZL)
Caleb Noble (AUS)
Colin Szuch (USA)
Benjamin Hill (AUS)
Jumpei Furuya (JAP)
Jarrod Osborne (AUS)
Matt Burton (AUS)
Jack Sosinski (AUS)
Benjamin Hamilton (NZL)
Kosuke Terasawa (JAP)
Patrick Bleasel (AUS)
Tristan Price (AUS)
Kaito Tohara (JAP)
Hamish Longmuir (AUS)
Kyle Tremayne (AUS)
Rhys Corbishley (AUS)
Roland Crantock (AUS)
Scott Harpham (NZL)
Calvin Amos (AUS)
Thomas Page (AUS)
Nathan Dortmann (AUS)
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FIELD
Regan Hollioake (AUS)
Rebecca Clarke (NZL)
Penny Slater (AUS)
Kate Gillespie-Jones (AUS)
Chloe Hartnett (AUS)
Danyella Eberle (AUS)
Caitlin Davis (AUS)
Laura Dennis (AUS)
Skye Wallace (AUS)
Emily Donker (AUS)
