Aussie triathlon star Matt Hauser and IRONMAN 70.3 World Champ head Geelong start list

The opening race of the IRONMAN Pro Series season takes place on March 23 as middle-distance triathletes descend on Geelong, Australia, for the 70.3 event.

In total 18 events will take place across the 2025 season in 17 race locations – the first being one of two Oceanic outings.

Unsurprisingly, both the men’s and women’s start lists are dominated by Australians and New Zealanders. The likes of Matt Hauser, Aaron Royle, Cam Wurf, Braden Currie and Jake Birtwhistle are set to contend in the men’s race along with defending champion Sam Osborne.

And on the women’s side, New Zealand’s Hannah Berry is set to be challenged by Australia’s Grace Thek and Great Britain’s Jodie Stimpson.

Hauser set for 70.3 debut

Two-time Olympian Hauser is set to make his IRONMAN racing bow in Geelong. The Aussie finished second in the 2025 World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) opener in Abu Dhabi after a DNF in last season’s WTCS Finals when he crashed on the bike.

[Photo credit: Tommy Zaferes / World Triathlon]

The 26-year-old is set to become the latest short-course star to make the step up to middle distance, following in the footsteps of Belgium’s Geens who excelled in 2024 on the T100 and 70.3 circuit.

In five races over the middle distance, the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) world number four finished in the top four of every event and claimed victory at T100 Lake Las Vegas and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship to end the year.

New Zealand’s Osborne is the returning champion, having secured victory in a time of 3:41:27 12 months ago. He earned three podiums across the 2024 campaign in addition to his Geelong win – second at IRONMAN 70.3 Philippines and third at both IRONMAN 70.3 Maine and IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast.

Other potential contenders include Royle – who enjoyed a modest season on the T100 series last term – road cycling star Wurf, and Frenchman Arnaud Guilloux.

Jimmy Whelan, a former professional cyclist who ditched the sport to become a pro triathlete in 2025, is set to make his 70.3-distance race in Geelong. The 28-year-old completed his first triathlon over any distance on January 13 in Melbourne.

Former champs Thek and Berry set to collide

The women’s race is likely to be a head-to-head battle between New Zealand’s Berry and Australia’s Thek.

2023 Champion Thek is set to duel with 2020 winner Berry [Photo credit: Korupt Vision]

2023 champion Thek is a perennial podium dweller in Geelong having finished in the top three for seven consecutive seasons. The PTO world number 23 was second in 2018, 2020, and 2024 and placed third in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

2020 victor Berry is making just her third appearance in the race. She won on debut five years ago but was unable to challenge in March last year when finishing fifth behind Thek and winner Ellie Salthouse.

Great Britain’s Stimpson is also scheduled to be on the start line. The 2011 ITU Triathlon World Champion had made sporadic appearances over the middle-distance until 2024 where she raced four times on the IRONMAN 70.3 circuit. Her best 70.3 performance came back in 2019 when she finished second in Bahrain.