kellogg's nutri-grain coolangatta gold 2005 - media guide

2005 Coolangatta Gold preview….Did you know? Surf Life Saving Australia has 113,000 surf lifesaving club members andaround 43,000ACTIVE MEMBERS who patrol our beaches representing 304 SENIORCLUBS. Another 41,000 are nippers (under 14 years old) with the remainder being longservice members, associate members, life members and others.WHO WILL BE CROWNED KING ANDQUEEN OF THE GOLD 2005?DAVID LYALL previews the 2005 Coolangatta Gold….After a 13- year absence from the surf sports calendar the Gold Coast will play host to theKellogg’s NUTRI-GRAIN Coolangatta Gold on October 16, 2005 and a new winner will becrowned - just the fourth ever champion of the endurance epic.All three previous Coolangatta Gold winners, Guy Leech (1984 & 85), Michael King (1991)and Darren Mercer (1992) will be on hand for the race that for the first time will include anunder 19 and team category over the full 46.65 kilometre distance and a women’s event over25.5km’s.Almost 200 competitors representing 52 clubs, from as far a field as Perth, New Zealand andCanada will come together for what is shaping up to be a spectacular return for one ofAustralian Surf Life Saving’s iconic endurance events.Set on the Gold Coast, the 1984 movie “The Coolangatta Gold” was the story of two brothers,one a promising athlete and the other the underdog, and how they meet in a head-to-headcontest when they enter a tough run, swim, board and surf ski marathon.The film, released in November 1984, starred surf lifesaving legend Grant Kenny and a youngColin Friels and was filmed in conjunction with the running of the inaugural race in front of amassive crowd at Surfers Paradise and many of the scenes in the film are action from the race.The real race, won by Guy Leech in January 1984, captured the imagination of all Australiansand made the then unheralded 18-year-old from Manly a household name.Now the search is on to find the next Ironman superstar!Ironically, heading up the list of contenders are brothers Shannon and Caine Eckstein,bringing back memories from the movie and adding more spice to a race that is set to have asmuch drama and great action as the original.In keeping with the family connection with the great race Mooloolaba veteran Dean Mercer willtry and emulate the feat of his brother Darren who won the Gold the last time it was staged, in1992.Dean was third himself in that race and sees winning this event as the final frontier in a careerthat has spanned two decades and brought two Australian Ironman titles amongst a long list ofachievements.4