{"id":895354,"date":"2026-09-17T13:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/895354\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T13:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:32:11","slug":"crocodile-inhabited-river-approved-as-brisbane-2032-olympic-rowing-venue-brisbane-olympic-games-2032","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/895354\/","title":{"rendered":"Crocodile-inhabited river approved as Brisbane 2032 Olympic rowing venue | Brisbane Olympic Games 2032"},"content":{"rendered":"

A crocodile habitat has been given the green light to host 2032 rowing after the controversial site passed an assessment \u201cwith flying colours\u201d.<\/p>\n

Olympic authorities on Thursday confirmed they had approved central Queensland\u2019s Fitzroy River as a Brisbane Games venue, ending months of debate.<\/p>\n

Queensland\u2019s premier, David Crisafulli, happily broke the news in parliament, saying the International Olympic Committee\u2019s assessment of the controversial course was complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fitzroy has passed with flying colours,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s official, signed, sealed and delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n

World Rowing<\/a> and Paddle Worldwide also confirmed they backed an independent technical assessment of the regional flat-water course.<\/p>\n

It ensured the venue would host Brisbane<\/a> Games rowing, para rowing, canoe sprint and para canoe events, the Queensland government said.<\/p>\n

The state government had faced enormous pressure to reconsider the site since first pitching the regional river as rowing host back in March 2025.<\/p>\n

The Fitzroy River is a crocodile habitat<\/a>, but its strong currents had raised the most concerns, sparking fears it may not comply with World Rowing regatta standards.<\/p>\n

It ramped up at a recent World Rowing congress meeting, where the British, New Zealand and German federations reportedly told 2032 bosses their athletes were worried about the venue\u2019s fairness, safety and sustainability.<\/p>\n

In recent months an open letter signed by 542 rowers, including Olympians such as gold medallist Drew Ginn, was sent to the state government asking for the rowing venue to be built in southeast Queensland.<\/p>\n

A crocodile safety sign on the banks of the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton. Photograph: Sylvia Liber\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

An alternative proposal at Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane, had been promoted by the local council as a world standard course at roughly half the cost of Rockhampton\u2019s site.<\/p>\n

Crisafulli had been defiant in the face of their concerns, dismissing them as \u201celites\u201d who were thumbing their nose at a regional centre.<\/p>\n

He announced the IOC had signed off on the Rockhampton site in parliament on Thursday, asking the opposition: \u201cWhy the long faces?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany have said it can\u2019t be done \u2026 we reject that view. We back in regional Queensland \u2013 no ifs, no buts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics also argued flooding at the Fitzroy River and heavy silt loads would demand constant dredging and repairs to keep an Olympic\u2011standard course open.<\/p>\n

However deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie said there would be \u201cno widening, no dredging needed\u201d after analysis showed the river could cater for a full width Olympic course with eight lanes plus room for start and finish areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fitzroy has the space for a full international standard course at 2.7km long section, providing sufficient distance for a standard 2000-metre rowing race,\u201d he told parliament.<\/p>\n

The IOC endorsed the flat-water course after a comprehensive and independent technical assessment by \u201cinternationally renowned marine engineering experts\u201d, the state government said.<\/p>\n

World Rowing and Paddle Worldwide endorsed the course after reviewing the expert data and representatives inspected the site.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now know that the Fitzroy River is capable of providing fair competition conditions during the period of the Games,\u201d World Rowing president, Jean-Christophe Rolland, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Paddle Worldwide president Thomas Konietzko said the extensive analysis had significantly improved the understanding of the field of play and had provided confidence in the course<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Games authority would now proceed with the detailed planning, design and construction for the competition, the Queensland government said.<\/p>\n

Rockhampton mayor Tony Williams was thrilled \u2013 but not surprised \u2013 by the IOC nod.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019ve always known, that Rockhampton and the Fitzroy River would be the perfect venue for rowing in 2032,\u201d he told AAP.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s time to get on with starting to look at the infrastructure and secure the work that needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A crocodile habitat has been given the green light to host 2032 rowing after the controversial site passed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":895355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-895354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/895355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}