Australia
IRONMAN in Australia: which race to choose
10 IRONMAN races in Australia: 3 full distances and 7 IRONMAN 70.3. The month, the bike course and the water temperature separate them.
Where the figures come from
The counts, averages, climbing and cut-offs are read from the catalogue and recalculated whenever a race is updated. They come from the race and course pages of ironman.com. Air and water temperatures are the organiser's averages for the race month. The race-day readings quoted come from the "Historical weather" table of the same course pages.
Australia has 19 races in the catalogue in total, including T100, Challenge Family and XTERRA: the Australia page lists them all. For dates race by race, use the IRONMAN schedule. South Africa races from November to June: see IRONMAN in South Africa.
Every IRONMAN race in Australia
Add a month or a distance to narrow the list.
- IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne
St. Kilda, Australia
- Date
- 8 Nov 2026
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 18 °C
- Bike
- Flat
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Sold out
- IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia
Busselton, Australia
- Date
- 6 Dec 2026
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 19 °C
- Bike
- Flat
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Sold out
- IRONMAN Western Australia
Busselton, Australia
- Date
- 6 Dec 2026
- Distance
- Full
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 21 °C
- Bike
- Flat
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Sold out
- IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong
Geelong, Australia
- Date
- 21 Mar 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 18 °C
- Bike
- Rolling
- Run
- Rolling
- Entries
- Open
- IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney
Penrith, Australia
- Date
- 2 May 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 19 °C
- Bike
- Flat
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Open
- IRONMAN 70.3 Cairns
Cairns, Australia
- Date
- 13 Jun 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 23 °C
- Bike
- Rolling
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Open
- IRONMAN Cairns
Cairns, Australia
- Date
- 13 Jun 2027
- Distance
- Full
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 23 °C
- Bike
- Rolling
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Open
- IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast
Mooloolaba, Australia
- Date
- 12 Sept 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 22 °C
- Bike
- Rolling
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Open
- IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie, Australia
- Date
- 17 Oct 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 23 °C
- Bike
- Rolling
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Open
- IRONMAN Australia
Port Macquarie, Australia
- Date
- 17 Oct 2027
- Distance
- Full
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 23 °C
- Bike
- Rolling
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Open
A first full distance: Busselton
IRONMAN Western Australia has the least bike climbing of the Australian full distances: 304 m. The swim is two laps in Geographe Bay, with a short run on the beach between them. The bike is two flat laps along the coast and through the Tuart Forest, and the run is four laps past the Busselton Jetty. The race is held in early December.
The bay was measured at 19 °C in 2024 and 2025, and at 23 °C in 2023. The cut-off is 17 h. On the same day, IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia rides a single lap of the same roads: 154 m of climbing, the lowest of the Australian 70.3 races.
Climbing and heat: Port Macquarie and Cairns
IRONMAN Australia, in Port Macquarie, has the most bike climbing: 1483 m. ironman.com calls it the original IRONMAN race on Australian shores. The one-lap swim in the Hastings River crosses a weir. The bike adds two inland laps to two laps of Ocean Drive and ends with the Matthew Flinders Drive climb. Long held in early May, the race moved to October in 2026.
IRONMAN Cairns, in June, swims two laps off Palm Cove, rides north on the Captain Cook Highway past Rex Lookout, and runs four laps of the Cairns Esplanade, about 30 km from the swim. ironman.com recorded highs of 27 to 30 °C from 2024 to 2026, with the sea at 22 to 23 °C. Its cut-off, 16 h 30 min, is the shortest of the Australian full distances.
Among the 70.3 races, IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie climbs the most, 974 m, with Matthew Flinders Drive on each lap.
70.3: a sheltered lake or a surf beach
IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney, in May, swims one lap of the lake at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith, a 2000 Olympic venue, from a pontoon start. ironman.com describes it as the most sheltered swim on the Oceania circuit. The bike is two flat laps with technical turns, and the run three laps around the lake. The water was measured at 17 to 22 °C from 2024 to 2026.
IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne, in November, starts by the St Kilda Sea Baths in Port Phillip Bay and rides two flat laps of Beach Road. IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast, in September, starts off the surf beach at Mooloolaba, rides the Sunshine Motorway and runs over Alexandra Headland.
A cut-off of 8 h applies at IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong, IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast. The other 70.3 races allow 8 h 30 min.
The season and the water
The Australian IRONMAN season runs from March to December. Victoria has the cool-water races: IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong in March and Melbourne in November, with averages of 18 °C. ironman.com tells Geelong athletes to have their wetsuits ready; Corio Bay was measured at 19 to 21 °C from 2024 to 2026. Melbourne's course page expects a wetsuit-optional swim.
Queensland races in Cairns in June, in the southern winter, and on the Sunshine Coast in September, in early spring, with averages up to 23 °C. Port Macquarie follows in October and Busselton in December.
Cairns, Port Macquarie and Busselton each hold a full distance and a 70.3 on the same day, sharing the swim venue, transitions and finish. Taupō does the same in March, across the Tasman: see IRONMAN in New Zealand.
Busselton, Cairns and Port Macquarie on the same rows
Month, water, climbing and cut-off, side by side.
IRONMAN Western Australia
IRONMAN Cairns
IRONMAN Australia
- Race 1 IRONMAN Western Australia
- Race 2 IRONMAN Cairns
- Race 3 IRONMAN Australia
- Circuit
- IRONMANIRONMANIRONMAN
- Distance
- Full distanceFull distanceFull distance
- Terrain
- RoadRoadRoad
- Swim
- 3.8 km3.8 km3.8 km
- Bike
- 180 km180 km180 km
- Run
- 42.2 km42.2 km42.2 km
- Date
- 6 Dec 202613 Jun 202717 Oct 2027
- Country
- AustraliaAustraliaAustralia
- Registration
- Sold outOpenOpen
- Swim venue
- BayOceanRiver
- Average water temperature
- 21 °C23 °C23 °C
- High air temperature
- 23 °C29 °C24 °C
- Low air temperature
- 16 °C18 °C13 °C
- Bike profile
- FlatRollingRolling
- Bike elevation gain
- 304 m1,122 m1,483 m
- Run profile
- FlatFlatFlat
- Run elevation gain
- 104 m65 m62 m
- Overall cut-off
- 17 h16 h 30 min17 h
- Altitude
- 4 m7 m5 m
- First edition
- 200420111985
- Swim start
- Rolling startRolling startRolling start
What the averages leave out
The wetsuit decision rests on the temperature measured on race morning. Under the 2026 IRONMAN Competition Rules, age-group athletes may wear a wetsuit up to 24.5 °C and must wear one below 16 °C. The Australian averages, from 18 to 23 °C, all sit in the range where a wetsuit is allowed. At Western Sydney, a provisional ruling is posted the day before and the official ruling is announced on race morning. The wetsuit rules guide sets out every threshold.
On 22 October 2026, ironman.com showed IRONMAN Western Australia, IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia and IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne sold out for their late-2026 editions; registration was open for the others. Australian entry prices on ironman.com include processing fees and GST, so the catalogue does not list them. Racing also requires an AusTriathlon membership or a one-day licence, sold at checkout. Registration is always done on the organiser's site.
Questions
How many IRONMAN races are there in Australia?
The catalogue lists 10: 3 full distances, in Busselton, Cairns and Port Macquarie, and 7 IRONMAN 70.3. Australia also has T100 Gold Coast, Challenge Canberra and Noosa Triathlon.
Which IRONMAN in Australia is best for a first full distance?
IRONMAN Western Australia has the least climbing, 304 m, flat bike and run courses and a cut-off of 17 h. Entries for its December 2026 edition were sold out on 22 October 2026. The first IRONMAN page compares it with races abroad.
What is the hardest IRONMAN in Australia?
On bike climbing, IRONMAN Australia, with 1483 m. IRONMAN Cairns adds tropical heat and the shortest cut-off, 16 h 30 min. The hardest IRONMAN courses page ranks them with races abroad.
When is the IRONMAN season in Australia?
From March to December: Geelong in March, Western Sydney in May, Cairns in June, the Sunshine Coast in September, Port Macquarie in October, Melbourne in November and Busselton in December.
Do I need a wetsuit for an IRONMAN in Australia?
The averages, from 18 to 23 °C, are in the range where IRONMAN allows age-group athletes a wetsuit, up to 24.5 °C; the limit for professionals is 21.9 °C. It becomes compulsory below 16 °C. The coolest water is in Victoria, at IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne, IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong. The decision is made on race morning.
Which 70.3 in Australia is the flattest?
IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia, with 154 m of bike climbing on a single lap. IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney is also flat, with a lake swim. The easiest 70.3 races page compares them worldwide.
Pick the month, then the race
Open the finder on IRONMAN races in Australia, or answer a few questions to get a shortlist.