Well, this is one way to ensure that you see a few records set at your Olympic Games.
David Crisafulli, premier of the Australian state of Queensland, confirmed on Tuesday that the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic rowing events will take place in Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River — which is very much in Australia’s crocodile country.
Organizers were quick to dismiss any crocodile fears, however, with Brisbane Olympic chief Andrew Liveris joking about any potential creature dangers.
“There are sharks in the ocean and we still do surfing,” Liveris said.
“Creatures below the water … that’s a bit kind of Hollywoodish, we’ll leave L.A. to worry about that.”
Crisafulli was fully behind the plan, touting the benefits of bringing the events to Rockhampton.
“It’s the opportunity that an urban renewal of a dormant part of that city can come to life. And anyone who’s tried to get accommodation for Beef Week knows that a few extra dwellings there might also be useful,” the premier said.
“We’re having it there and we’ll do everything we can to make sure that it works to the highest possible standard.”
However, it wasn’t just outsiders who were shocked by the fact Olympic athletes will be asked to compete on water that even the local rowing club president acknowledges is natural crocodile habitat.
Hours before the plan was unveiled, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked during a radio appearance what he thought about the then unofficial reports of Rockhampton as an Olympic rowing venue, and if he himself would swim the Fitzroy.
“I’m not sure how sensible a proposition that is,” Albanese told Brisbane’s B105.
“My understanding is it was sort of listed eight out of eight as options, and if there were 15 options, it would have been 15.”
Albanese also said that Rockhampton was a “fantastic place” and the Fitzroy a “great river … walk along.”
“But I’m not sure that having rowing there, although I’ve got to say, people might break world records,” he joked. “They’d want to go pretty quickly wouldn’t they?”
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Rockhampton is roughly 500 km north of Brisbane, the host city of the 2032 Summer Games, and the Australian rowing team trained there before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and plan to do so again before the Los Angeles Games.
The river also hosts multiple amateur rowing clubs.
The venue has raised concerns that the course may not meet international standards.
“The issue for us at this point is that we know that World Rowing and the (International Olympic Committee) have not yet been consulted in relation to that venue,” Rowing Australia chief executive Sarah Cook said.
She added that a “key criteria … is that on a standard international course there should be no stream.”