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Bonnie Hancock

Paddle Queen

34-year-old Bonnie Hancock recently broke the Guinness World Record for fastest person to circumnavigate mainland Australia by paddle.

Growing up in the small NSW town of Sawtell, Bonnie was primarily a board paddler and swimmer and as a late bloomer on the ski, didn’t pick up a paddle until the age of 17.

After a move to the Gold Coast, Bonnie qualified in the Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series, completing seven years on the professional circuit.

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After finishing her Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics Degree, Bonnie decided to focus on ski paddling, medalling at the Queensland State and Australian Championships in her first year of doing so.

In 2020, Bonnie was inspired by a book about a previous circumnavigation of Australia by paddle. Two years later, she set off from Mermaid Beach on her surf ski and after 254 days, finished a clockwise loop around the country, breaking the previous Guinness World Record by over two months. Bonnie also broke the Guinness World Record for furthest distance paddled in 24 hours (open ocean) by a female, completing 235 kms on her surf ski at Airlie Beach.

In 2024, Bonnie published her memoir about the circumnavigation, titled “The Girl Who Touched The Stars” through Harper Collins. She also premiered her documentary “Diamond Of The Sea” at the Gold Coast Film
Festival, after which the film was released nationally on Foxtel and Kayo Sports.

Bonnie now enjoys sharing her journey as a keynote speaker, and in November 2023, presented a TED talk in Paris.

ACHIEVEMENTS

  • 2 x Guinness World Records: Fastest person to circumnavigate Australia by paddle (12,700km in 254 days) and longest distance paddled in 24 hours open ocean by a female (235 kilometres)

  • Memoir “The Girl Who Touched The Stars” published by Harper Collins in February, 2024
  • Documentary “Diamond Of The Sea” premiered at the Gold Coast Film Festival in April 2024, and in May was released on Kayo and Foxtel

  • TED talk performed in Paris, 2023
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”It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”
David AttenboroughNatural Historian