In 1982, a couple of mates were inspired to stage their own triathlon in the Penrith area after watching the excitement of the famous Hawaiian Ironman on a fuzzy analogue TV.
More than four decades later, the Nepean Triathlon is still thriving at the foot of the Mountains, with the latest instalment to be held this Sunday, March 30.
Known for being Australia’s oldest triathlon, the Nepean will see between 1100-1200 competitors battle it out for the coveted title.
2025 will mark the second year Elite Energy Events will be running the famous race after rescuing the format back in 2023. Speaking with the Weekender, Elite Energy Events CEO Mark Emerton said the Nepean Triathlon is full of history and tradition that he wanted to preserve.
“When taking over, I was of the mindset ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, so we didn’t want to mess with the distance, course or anything like that. The Nepean has been around forever and has a lot of history and tradition that comes with it,” he said.
“We also wanted to make sure the event is financially viable because we wanted to maintain that the oldest triathlon in Australia is still in NSW. Noosa is one or two years behind us, so if we sat on our hands, they may have taken the title away. We never want that to happen, I’m too proud for that.”
While some wet weather is forecast for this weekend, Emerton is crossing his fingers is doesn’t impact proceedings too much with a jam-packed schedule planned.
Not only will the 2025 Redline Games be held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre this weekend, but a whopping five triathlons will also be run and won.
On Saturday, the morning kicks off with the 2025 Australian Super Sprint Championship (250m swim, 10km cycle, 2.5km run) at 8am before back-to-back TriKids triathlons get underway at 9.15am and 9.45am respectively.
At 9.30am on Sunday, the Classic Triathlon (2km swim, 60km cycle, 16km run) will kick off the day before the beloved Nepean Triathlon (1km swim, 30km cycle, 8km run) gets going at 10.30am.
“Saturday’s races – including the Australian Super Sprint Championships – will be held inside the Regatta Centre, while on Sunday competitors head out along Castlereagh Road,” Emerton said.
“We’re expecting the same numbers as last year. Unfortunately we are now down to three legends who have finished every Nepean Triathlon. One of the local guys, Chappo, didn’t finish last year, so he technically hasn’t completed every race.”
Still keen on racing in this Sunday’s Nepean Triathlon? It’s not too late enter! Visit http://www.nepeantriathlon.com.au for more information and to sign up.
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.