Sport
23 September, 2025
Local triathlete Jane Anderson to compete at IRONMAN World Championships
Maryborough & District Triathlon Club member Jane Anderson is set to tackle a 45-year dream of completing arguably one of the hardest endurance events in the world.
On Saturday, October 11, Anderson will compete at the Women’s IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, the pinnacle event in the IRONMAN series.
Athletes from around the world will test their physical and mental capabilities in a long-distance triathlon consisting of a 3.9 km swim, 180.2 km bike ride and a 42.2 km run.
For Anderson, her aspiration to compete at the event has been decades in the making.
“In the 80s, I watched the Wide World of Sports on a Saturday morning and watched the women finishing it, some having an absolutely dreadful time, and I just thought to myself ‘that’s what I want to do’,” she said.
“I think what drew me in was doing something exceptionally hard. There’s always an aura and mythology around competing at the home of IRONMAN in Hawaii.”
Despite being an accomplished endurance athlete with several IRONMANs and marathons under her belt over the past decade, Anderson was pessimistic about her chances to qualify for this year’s world championships.
However, after successfully qualifying at IRONMAN Cairns in June, where she finished sixth in her age group, Anderson said a waft of emotion has consumed her.
“Cairns was my last chance to grab a spot and that was somewhat unexpected but fabulous and scary at the same time,” she said.
“Ten years ago, I couldn’t even run. I just never would have thought I would ever get to this point. I’m 57 now and the older I get, the stronger I am getting. Hopefully that continues for another few years.”
One of Anderson’s most prominent concerns for the race is Hawaii’s tropical climate, with temperatures expected to be above 24 degrees for the entire event.
Anderson said she has been excessively committed to getting her body acclimatised to the heat, even travelling to Townsville for a training trip.
“One of the big things about competing in Hawaii is the extreme heat and humidity, and when you are coming out of a winter, it’s very difficult to adjust,” she said.
“I have literally spent the whole of winter not adjusting to the cold at all. I wear up to six layers of clothes at all times and I wear a heat sensor to understand what my body temperature is at.
“I do steam room training, I do sauna training and probably the most effective is a really hot bath up to about 42 degrees for 40 minutes.
“When I went to Townsville, I was able to demonstrate that all of that training and preparation has got me ready.”
With Anderson hopeful of completing the race just inside 17 hours, it’s a serious challenge for any endurance athlete to maintain their concentration throughout the event.
“The exercise is not the hard part, it's dealing with the boredom,” Anderson said.
“There are no pleasant rides or runs. Everything is hot, uncomfortable and boring. It’s about doing boring stuff well. It’s incredibly tedious and you need to have your mind in a position that can manage it.
“I do maths the whole way, I’m always thinking how fast am I going, what time do I want to get in, what are the confounding factors and complexities that I am dealing with.
“It’s very statistically driven, I have a computer on my bike which I’m constantly looking at and goal-setting based on that.”
Even with all of her experience and dedicated training, Anderson said she knows next month’s IRONMAN will be the toughest physical challenge of her life.
“I’m scared out of my mind, it’s very emotional, you sort of think what can top this in your life,” she said.
“I’ve done some very long races and I know how painful it’s going to be and I know that at about 9 pm I’m going to want to throw in the towel.
“You never get over not finishing — I had one event where I got hypothermia and got pulled off the run and you never forget that.
“Regardless of what happens, I’m going to have a story to tell at the end.”