 |
Sports correspondent & historian with |
The buildup to the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games made the media on a couple of occasions in the last week.
A former Sunshine Coast Council CEO has been appointed the interim chief executive of the Queensland State Olympic Games authority.
This announcement was preceded by the news that the rail line would be extended from Bewah on the main trunk line to Caloundra in time for the Olympic events on the Sunshine Coast.
Currently a change is required from train to bus at Landsborough, some 20 odd kilometres, from the start of the Sunshine Coast at Caloundra.
While the bulk of the Olympic competition is centred on Brisbane, a number of Olympic title events will take place on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.
The Sunshine Coast will dip it's hat to Olympic tradition in holding both the men's and women's Marathons in the region.
The Marathon traces back to the first Olympics held in Greece many centuries before the birth of the Modern Olympics.
Alexander Headlands is ideally suited to the 26 mile running competitions, with a flat coastal terrain and plenty of room for thousands of spectators.
The marathon course will be the base for race walking events.
Race walking is a ungainly looking event with the competitors facing a fine line between speed walking and breaking into a run.
Race walking provides plenty of drama, especially for television viewers, with judges on the course watching for competitors who are adjudged to have broken into a jog, with disqualification awaiting after earlier warnings.
The long flat Sunshine Coast coastal terrain and nearby hinterland will also provide the venue for the road cycling events.
Time trial racing will take place on the flat, while the men's and women's (long distance) road races will encounter plenty of hill work in climbing up into the hinterland.
While long distance running, walking, and cycling have plenty of Olympic history, another 2032 Olympic competition to be held on the Sunshine Coast is at the forefront of modern sporting competition.
Kite boarding, which is a recent Olympic sport introduction, is to be held of the waters of Alexandra Headland situated half way between Noosa and Caloundra.
The well known surfing spot is likely to provide plenty high speed action with quality waves and plenty of wind currents.
The Sunshine Coast Stadium at Kawana is being upgraded and will host preliminary rounds of the football competition.
Other competitions on the Sunny Coast are mountain biking and basketball preliminaries.
Adding to the volume of athletes, support staff, and officials on the Sunshine Coast during the 2032 Summer Olympics, is a satellite athlete village to be built at Maroochydore.
While the Queensland Games are eight years in the future, the relentless preparation to produce a Olympics, that rivals the 1956 Melbourne and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games is well under way.
