Course Conditions
With the changes to the bike course (3 loops instead of two, using the hilliest sections of the old course) and the hotter/wetter weather, it wasn’t a surprise that the overall times were quite a bit slower: The adjustment for this year’s race is 1:42, more than four minutes slower than the average for Cairns and more than ten minutes slower than what we’ve seen in the last two years, almost all of it coming from a slower bike leg.
The harder conditions did not allow for any new course records.
Kona Qualifying
At IM Cairns, there was one Kona Pro slot each for the men and women. With 12 starters, the male Pros will receive two Kona Pro slots, the females (8 starters) only one. These slots go to:
- Max Neumann
Tim Van Berkel
and- Amelia Watkinson.
(Sarah Crowley was already qualified before the race.) The full list of Pro athletes qualified for Kona 2021 can be found here.
Male Race Results
| Rank | Name | Nation | Swim | Bike | Run | Time | Diff to exp. | Prize Money |
| 1 | Max Neumann | AUS | 00:45:42 | 04:33:23 | 02:50:05 | 08:13:08 | n/a | US$ 6,000 |
| 2 | Tim Van Berkel | AUS | 00:47:46 | 04:31:04 | 02:53:25 | 08:15:57 | -06:43 | US$ 4,000 |
| 3 | Josh Amberger | AUS | 00:45:41 | 04:31:57 | 02:57:46 | 08:18:38 | -13:33 | US$ 3,000 |
| 4 | Tim Reed | AUS | 00:47:51 | 04:31:05 | 03:08:46 | 08:31:40 | 05:37 | US$ 2,500 |
| 5 | Scott Bayvel | ZAF | 00:49:36 | 04:29:30 | 03:08:52 | 08:32:33 | -12:32 | US$ 2,000 |
| 6 | Simon Hearn | AUS | 00:47:43 | 04:46:25 | 03:12:51 | 08:51:19 | n/a | US$ 1,500 |
| 7 | Alexander Polizzi | AUS | 00:45:44 | 04:36:49 | 03:28:48 | 08:55:58 | -39:38 | US$ 1,000 |
| 8 | Brodie Gardner | AUS | 00:55:02 | 04:49:18 | 03:13:16 | 09:01:36 | n/a | |
| 9 | Damien Collins | AUS | 00:57:55 | 04:56:28 | 03:12:40 | 09:12:42 | 25:39 | |
| Lachlan Kerin | AUS | 00:47:41 | DNF | |||||
| Steven McKenna | AUS | 00:48:05 | DNF | |||||
| Jarrod Harvey | AUS | 00:52:10 | DNF |
Female Race Results
| Rank | Name | Nation | Swim | Bike | Run | Time | Diff to exp. | Prize Money |
| 1 | Amelia Watkinson | NZL | 00:53:15 | 05:01:47 | 03:22:02 | 09:20:38 | -14:49 | US$ 6,000 |
| 2 | Sarah Crowley | AUS | 00:53:18 | 05:01:51 | 03:23:21 | 09:22:03 | 19:38 | US$ 4,000 |
| 3 | Renee Kiley | AUS | 00:54:05 | 05:00:57 | 03:24:05 | 09:23:56 | -28:18 | US$ 3,000 |
| 4 | Kylie Simpson | AUS | 01:07:19 | 05:17:38 | 02:57:06 | 09:27:21 | n/a | US$ 2,500 |
| 5 | Meredith Hill | AUS | 00:56:53 | 05:12:37 | 03:21:11 | 09:36:06 | 07:33 | US$ 2,000 |
| 6 | Beth McKenzie | USA | 01:01:17 | 05:21:13 | 03:20:11 | 09:46:48 | 19:07 | US$ 1,500 |
| 7 | Shannon Sutton | AUS | 01:09:35 | 06:17:59 | 04:29:02 | 12:05:46 | n/a | US$ 1,000 |
| Laura Dennis | AUS | 00:56:00 | DNF |