Source : Perth Now news
A major triathlon event has been forced to axe a key part of the race just moments before it was due to get under way.
The Noosa Triathlon, held on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, was forced to pull the plug on the swimming leg of the event at the eleventh hour following a shark sighting.
Organisers confirmed the move early on Sunday morning, just hours before the event was due to begin.
“The Noosa Triathlon team is not able to put water safety on the water due to marine life present. The swim will not be taking place” a post to the event’s Facebook page read.
“Athletes will start with a beach run beginning from the Western end of the beach and head towards the existing swim exit.”
Warnings about shark activity were first issued on Saturday, with swathes of the beach closed throughout the day.
However, event organisers had originally intended to allow the swim to go ahead with an adapted course, tweaking the route and changing the distance to minimise the chance of shark encounters.
But on Sunday morning, a further shark sighting meant that precautions could not be put in place and the swim had to be axed.
The event is the largest Olympic distance triathlon in the world, drawing 8500 athletes and 20,000 spectators each year.
However, surf lifesavers who were due to monitor the event refused to enter the water at the start of the event, following sightings at first light.
Event head of operations Rebecca Van Pooss said the decision was “totally understandable”.
“Surf lifesaving protocol is no-one entering the water for 60 minutes after the last sighting,” she told ABC News.
“So for us, an hour out from race start, we decided to make the call then because we didn’t have the additional time to push our starts any later.”
She said it was the first time in the event’s 43 history that a leg has had to be cancelled.
