Sport
13 June, 2025
Locals take on Ironman
LOCAL pro triathletes Nick Carling and Sarah Thomas are focused, prepped and ready to tackle Ironman Cairns alongside a group of over 50 local friends and students looking to break personal bests and vie for a spot in the podium this Sunday.
Ironman Cairns – or ‘race in paradise’ as it is affectionately known – is back this Sunday, June 15, for another round of athletic prowess with hundreds of triathletes from Australia and the world gathering in Cairns to swim across the shores of Palm Cove, bike up to Port Douglas and take in the oceanic views and run across the iconic Cairns Esplanade.
Among the racers are the eager local triathletes who are hoping to take their performances to the next level, such is the case for seasoned competitors Nick Carling, founder of Ignite Endurance, and Sarah Thomas, founder of Sarah Thomas Triathlon Coaching, who are heading to their seventh Ironman Cairns and have been recruiting new triathletes to the event for years.
“This has to be my favourite race of the year just because there’s nothing like the hometown race, the crowd support is amazing and the atmosphere is probably like nothing you will get anywhere in the world,” Mr Carling said.
“We’re incredibly lucky to have an event like this and it being a pro series event, it attracts some of the best athletes in the world, but it’s also our home ground, the spectator support, knowing the area,” Ms Thomas said. “I haven’t had the best Ironman performance I’m capable of, so the goal this year is to do the best race I can, hopefully get a personal best, but a lot of things happen that are out of your control, but for me it’s all about giving the best performance.”
This year, 52 local rookie and seasoned triathletes and their coaches will be competing in Ironman Cairns which the pair says gives the race an even more special meaning.
“Coaching gives us a whole different perspective because it’s a huge thing to see the athletes that we’ve guided compete, achieve their goals and achieve things they probably didn’t think they were capable of,” Ms Thomas said.
“One of the greatest reasons I do this race, it’s that this is the one race of the year where I get to race alongside my athletes and feel this buzz, try to finish as quickly as possible so I can see them finish and hear their stories,” Mr Carling said.
“We’d absolutely also love to make the podium but there are some really big names competing, we’re both going to give it our absolute best but if we go out there and have the best day we possibly can, we’ll both be happy,” Ms Thomas said.
