Two-time IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Jelle Geens and five-time IRONMAN 70.3 race winner Natalie Van Coevorden highlight the professional men’s and women’s fields set to compete for the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie titles this Sunday, 18 October.
Athletes are also racing for a share of the $30,000 USD prize pool and two slots per gender to the 2027 Precision Fuel & Hydration IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA.
Since stepping up to middle distance racing following the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Van Coevorden has won five IRONMAN 70.3 titles in the space of 18 months – including last year’s IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie.
“I have been backing myself more and standing on the start line with confidence that the work is done,” said Van Coevorden. “Having five IRONMAN 70.3 wins is pretty crazy to me but signifies on paper that we are doing the right things day in, day out. I try and race smart and to my strengths but having more IRONMAN 70.3 races under my belt now allows me to trust and dig a bit deeper knowing I have some more puzzle pieces put together than I did last year.”
On the men’s side, Belgium’s two-time IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Jelle Geens adds real star power to the start list. After falling just short of adding a third world title last month at the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France, finishing third, Geens will be determined to return to the top step of the podium when he lines up in Port Macquarie for the first time this Sunday.
Josh Ferris is another athlete who comes into Sunday’s race off the back of a strong performance in Nice. Making his IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship debut, Ferris was impressive on the bike before fading on the run to finish 15th.
“I think after any championship race there is a bit of a comedown mentally and physically. I took a few days to chill and reset but since returning to Australia and getting back into routine over the last few weeks, the body has come around quite good. I’ve been hitting some good metrics in training and feeling energetic, excited and ready to have a good day in Port,” said Ferris.
1. Women’s Professional Field
|
Bib Number
|
First Name
|
Last Name
|
Country Represented
|
|
F1
|
Natalie
|
Van Coevorden
|
AUS
|
|
F2
|
Chloe
|
Hartnett
|
AUS
|
|
F3
|
Cassandra
|
Heaslip
|
AUS
|
|
F4
|
Kate
|
Gillespie-Jones
|
AUS
|
|
F5
|
Angharad
|
Llewellyn
|
NZL
|
|
F6
|
Sian
|
Munks
|
AUS
|
|
F7
|
Lauren
|
Sprague
|
AUS
|
|
F8
|
Laura
|
Gillard
|
AUS
|
|
F9
|
Chino
|
Iwabuchi
|
JPN
|
|
F10
|
Demi
|
Birch
|
AUS
|
|
F11
|
Emily
|
Donker
|
AUS
|
|
F12
|
Jenna
|
Horner
|
USA
|
|
F14
|
Emily
|
Watts
|
AUS
|
2. Men’s Professional Field
|
Bib Number
|
First Name
|
Last Name
|
Country Represented
|
|
M1
|
Jelle
|
Geens
|
BEL
|
|
M2
|
Sam
|
Osborne
|
NZL
|
|
M3
|
Jake
|
Birtwhistle
|
AUS
|
|
M4
|
Josh
|
Ferris
|
AUS
|
|
M5
|
Mitchell
|
Kibby
|
AUS
|
|
M6
|
Mike
|
Phillips
|
NZL
|
|
M7
|
Jarrod
|
Osborne
|
AUS
|
|
M8
|
Kieran
|
Storch
|
AUS
|
|
M9
|
Matt
|
Burton
|
AUS
|
|
M10
|
John Samuel
|
Fothergill
|
AUS
|
|
M11
|
Tristan
|
Price
|
AUS
|
|
M12
|
Jacob
|
Lipari
|
AUS
|
|
M14
|
Joe
|
Begbie
|
AUS
|
|
M15
|
Hamish
|
Longmuir
|
AUS
|
|
M16
|
Monty
|
Dixon
|
AUS
|
|
M17
|
Cameron
|
Wilson
|
AUS
|
|
M18
|
Roland
|
Crantock
|
AUS
|
|
M19
|
Josh
|
Wooldridge
|
AUS
|
|
M20
|
Aaron
|
Kiss
|
SGP
|
|
M21
|
Rhys
|
Corbishley
|
AUS
|
|
M22
|
Levi
|
Hauwert
|
AUS
|
|
M23
|
Riley
|
Abrahams
|
AUS
|
|
M24
|
Tyler
|
Jerram
|
NZL
|
|
M25
|
Vincent
|
Größer
|
DEU
|