Bailey Armstrong’s Life Long Dream Comes True With Aussies Surf Race Triumph On The Gold Coast
Four-time Australian world championship open water swimmer Bailey Armstrong has achieved a lifelong dream to win the coveted open surf race title at the 2026 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships “The Aussies.”
Armstrong, who now has his sights set on the LA28 Olympics, was among 7,500 competitors from 350 surf clubs who converged onto the famous stretch of beach at North Kirra on Queensland’s southern Gold Coast for the iconic nine-day Australian institution last week.
He had been described as the best swimmer never to have won the coveted Aussie surf race crown – a race that had been won by a who’s who of some of Australia’s most accomplished surf and open water swimmers and Olympians.
JOINS A LONG LIST: Bailey Armstrong has the monkey off hid back. Photo Courtesy: John Veage (Harvpix)
But he has now joined a list led by retired two-time open water Olympian and champion ironman Ky Hurst – a 10-time winner of the race – and arguably Australia’s greatest waterman.
And with six-time winner and Armstrong’s best mate Nick Sloman out of the 2026 race with injury, it was Bailey’s time to shine.
In 2026 Armstrong was primed to finally get the monkey off his back – it was his time to shine and to do his late father proud.
Armstrong led from start to finish over a tricky North Kirra course to take out an emotional win, turning on the after burners on the swim back to shore, holding off emerging stars – Henry Simpson from Alexandra Headland and Currumbin’s ever-present Brennan brothers, Callum, who snared bronze, with younger brother Riley, fourth.
The 27-year-old from the champion Northcliffe Surf Club, realising a magical moment in a career that has seen him struggle to survive financially and at times emotionally after narrowly missing the 2021 and 2024 Olympic teams.
Bailey dedicating an emotional win to his late father, a hero, mentor and best mate, who passed away last August with cancer.
“It’s been a tough year, I lost my dad (last August) and we always did this (The Aussies) together so I was happy to get the win,” said Bailey, declaring his father had shown him what strength, kindness and selfishness really meant:
“I don’t know if I’ll ever truly fill the shoes of the man he was, but I’ll spend my life trying to follow his example and hope I can do him proud.
“I come from (a) surf (background), I love the waves… it’s just the running I don’t like and there was plenty of it there. I took the race out easy and then built through the race.
“I was watching with my dad in hospital this time last year.”
Armstrong is also a member of the Queensland Academy of Sport’s Dream Twice program, helping prospective Olympians get a balanced sport/work lifestyle Bailey’s journey to the Olympics hasn’t always been golden, with financial hurdles crippling his passion for the sport and narrowly missing out on the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The program partners with Queensland businesses to offer flexible, paid employment to QAS-supported athletes, allowing them to balance professional development with their sporting commitments. Through the program, Bailey has secured a role with Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ), where his competitive mindset and resilience has brought fresh perspectives to the organisation.