New Zealand dominated the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast as Hannah Berry returned to the top step of the podium in Mooloolaba, while Trent Thorpe secured his maiden IRONMAN 70.3 victory on a day to remember for the Kiwis.
Berry opted to race on the Sunshine Coast this weekend instead of at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France, as she builds towards the biggest race of the year next month – the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawai`i.
It was a decision that paid off as Berry cruised to victory in Mooloolaba, breaking the tape nearly eight minutes clear of Australia’s Emily Watts in second, with Charlotte Mcshane in third a further two and a half minutes behind. Watts, a former professional cyclist turned professional triathlete, was also a standout performer, earning herself a podium in just her second IRONMAN 70.3 race.
Berry was dominant all day, setting the fastest bike and run splits in the women’s race, and just a second off the fastest swim split. The Kiwi’s winning time of 4:05:33 was nearly six minutes faster than the last time she won here on the Sunshine Coast in 2019.
“I’m feeling good. I felt pretty good today across the board and that’s what I was aiming for. I had a good swim, rode at the front of the bike and just tried to to hold my gap and ideally create a bit more of a gap, and then on the run just do my thing. My legs actually felt pretty good so it’s positive,” said Berry.
“I definitely had to dig a little deep when I got to the turnaround on the bike and saw that Emily was chasing me down, so I picked it up and biked away scared a little bit. I managed to hold her off in the end but had to work for it,” she said.
“I love coming here, it feels a bit like a second home. We come to Noosa pretty much every year to do a training block. This is my fifth time racing here so I know it really well. There are a lot of Kiwis over here and there’s a lot of people I know over here from training here, so it feels almost like a local race. The crowd support is awesome and it’s a really fast course.”
Berry will now focus her attention back into training for the IRONMAN World Championship.
“I’m currently preparing for the IRONMAN World Champs in Kona, so that’s the big one for the year. I’m in a pretty heavy training load at the moment so it’ll be a couple of days of recovery and then straight back to training for that one in a months’ time,” said Berry.
Trent Thorpe was equally impressive today in Mooloolaba, earning his first IRONMAN 70.3 victory after leading the race from start to finish.
“I’m over the moon, this is my first professional win, so I’m stoked. I couldn’t have asked for a better day,” said Thorpe.
“It was one of the best crowds I’ve ever had. The amount of people out on the course was just unreal and seeing so many friends and family, my coach, it was just an awesome feeling.”
Thorpe set up his win with the fastest swim of the day by more than a minute and continued to put the hammer down on the bike, also setting the fastest time across the 90km leg.
The Kiwi had a 3:24 lead as he ran out of transition and though he was being hunted down by Australia’s Caleb Noble, Thorpe had more than enough left in the tank to take the tape in 3:42:33, just over two minutes ahead of Noble, while Australia’s Mitch Kibby rounded out the podium in 3:45:49.
“I just sent it from the swim, I think I got about a minute gap and then I just kept it going on the bike. I wanted to try and ride as fast as I could and get as big a gap as I could onto the run. Coming off with a lead of nearly four minutes, that was the best thing I could’ve asked for and then it was just about surviving that run, especially that last five k,” he said.
The professionals raced alongside more than 2,000 age-group athletes across the 1.9km swim starting and finishing on Mooloolaba Beach, a 90km ride taking in the Sunshine Motorway and a 21.1km run finishing on the Mooloolaba Esplanade.
IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.
The Sunshine Coast Council supports IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast through its Major Events Sponsorship Program.
For more information on IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast visit https://www.ironman.com/im703-sunshine-coast.
2026 IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast – Professional Results
Professional Women
- Hannah Berry (NZL) – 4:05:33
- Emily Watts (AUS) – 4:13:20
- Charlotte Mcshane (AUS) – 4:15:55
- Rebecca Clarke (NZL) – 4:18:56
- Laura Gillard (AUS) – 4:21:27
- Jasmine Brown (AUS) – 4:22:57
- Penny Slater (AUS) – 4:25:50
- Demi Birch (AUS) – 4:29:45
- Emily Donker (AUS) – 4:33:08
- Danielle Donaldson (NZL) – 4:41:55
Professional Men
- Trent Thorpe (NZL) – 3:42:33
- Caleb Noble (AUS) – 3:44:37
- Mitch Kibby (AUS) – 3:45:49
- Nicholas Free (AUS) – 3:48:09
- Ben Hamilton (NZL) – 3:48:49
- John Fothergill (AUS) – 3:49:04
- Mitchell Westhuizen (RSA) – 3:50:07
- Monty Dixon (AUS) – 3:50:56
- Kyle Tremayne (AUS) – 3:51:37
- Scott Harpham (NZL) – 3:53:23