Olympic bid for surf life saving

A sport with a cause is chasing a spot on the biggest stage at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, with an array of greats in its corner and recognised worldwide thanks to a hit US TV show popular in the 1990s.

Now life saving is out to ride a wave of local support, popularity and its iconic and humanitarian status all the way to the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.

With 150 national organisations including Finland, Austria, Albania, Bangladesh and Cameroon, 30 million members and major competitions already in play, athletes from around the world are ready to answer the Olympic call.

Already an established talent pool for sports like kayaking, swimming, surfing and rowing, life saving now wants to be on the Olympic stage itself, where athletes would showcase the skills that help save thousands of lives each year.

“The time is right,’’ said Graham Ford, International Life Saving Federation president.

“Having the Olympics here in 2032 is a great opportunity because of the big connection with surf in south east Queensland.’’

And in their corner is an array of surf life saving and Olympics greats, including Trevor Hendy and Karla Gilbert and Olympic kayaking champion turned Paris Games assistant Chef de Mission Ken Wallace.

“It’s a dream come true. For kids who are 16 or 17, they are going to be hitting their prime at Brisbane,’’ said multiple ironman champion and legend Hendy, who travelled to the US to meet stars of the life saving series Baywatch, including David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson.

The proposed Olympic events would be an ocean man and ocean woman race over an M course and, like iron racing in Australia, would involve board, ski, run and swimming legs.