A triathlon event aimed at promoting fitness and well-being among Maori is being held in Australia for the first time.
IronMaori, traditionally a half iron man event, was set up in 2009. The run, cycle and swimming competition will be held on the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Event organiser Heather Skipworth says organisers wanted to take the event to Australia to hopefully inspire Maori to incorporate health into their daily lives.
She says a high number of Maori live there and suspects whanau move there to earn more money, but too often their health is neglected because of working long hours.
More than 450 people had registered for the competition a week ago and Ms Skipworth expects interest in the event to rise to more than 500.
The IronMaori competition includes five events including a single triathlon consisting of a 300m swim, 9km cycle and 3km run, as well as a dual triathlon, which could be done by an individual or team.
