Tenacious on the water.
Dominant on the sand.
Unassuming, hard-working.
Our Race One athlete.
Your 2025 Shaw and Partners Coolangatta Gold 26.5 Champion.
Electra Outram.
Holding herself back in the early stages of the race, Electra was challenged by the windy conditions and the urge to race from the front.
“I knew I wasn’t the quickest ski paddler and it was a challenge to hold myself back, and to not be panicked about not being in the lead pack nor the leader,” she said.
“I had to just take the race inch by inch, especially in the wind.”
A Sunshine Beach nipper, now the 2025 Shaw and Partners Coolangatta Gold 26.5 Champion, Electra has been chasing victory since she was six years old.
At 24, she knows where her strengths lie and set out to execute a race plan that was a little different to most, but the key to her personal success.
“I had to race a very different race to those who are ski paddlers and swimmers,” she explained.
“I’m a board paddler and a runner, so I really had to race my own race plan, and just back myself knowing that I had enough in me for the backend of the race.”
Tucked away on the Sunshine Coast, working quietly along the coastline, juggling a double degree in law and commerce all whilst pursuing her dreams of sporting success, Electra found herself where it all began – with her family.
Training daily with her younger brother Zale, the pair were joined by driver ‘Dad’ – Ivan, to quickly become the inevitable success story that we saw last weekend.
“Dad would drive us each day to the beach, drop us off and just do his thing while we trained,” Electra smiled, reminiscing on the recent months.
“We would train earlier in the afternoon due to my university timetable, Zale would train beside me, he’d lose me on the ski and then come back to check on me, sometimes to tell me I’m going too slow!” she laughed.
“We would run together; he’d take off and then burn out a little up ahead so I would try to pass him once more.”
Day in and day out, the pair would train, pushing each other, looking for any ounce of competitive edge, all whilst Ivan would be patiently awaiting the session to conclude.
Mimicking moments of the original movie ‘The Coolangatta Gold’, set against the same backdrop of surf, sand and sun, the Outram family have well and truly captured and endured the big screen themes of ambition, sibling rivalry and self-belief.
Carrying that self-belief deep within her, Electra’s future in Surf Sports is bound to be big, bold and beautiful as she simply looks to give back to a sport that has already given her and her family a beautiful life together.
“For me, I would really just love to give the sport my best,” she said proudly.
“I’ve been doing it for a while now, I love the ocean, and I just really want to give it the best I can so when my time comes to wrap it up, I’ve left it all out there and that it’s something I remember fondly and can be proud of!”