Crikey! Australia’s 2032 Olympic organizers want rowers to compete in a crocodile-infested river

Albanese told a radio station then that the Fitzroy was a “great river” for a walk, “but I’m not sure that having rowing there, although I’ve got to say, people might break world records. ... They’d want to go pretty quickly wouldn’t they?”

Defenders of “the mighty Fitzroy,” including Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, have responded to concerns about the crocodiles by saying that if the river is good enough for local kids, it is "good enough for Pierre from Paris,” a story in The Guardian last week said.

That story pointed out the river is at the southern limits of “croc country” and that locals regularly paddle upstream from a concrete barrier that marks where crocodiles larger than 6½-feet long and those “displaying dangerous behavior” can begin to be removed.

Earlier this year, drone footage appeared to confirm a crocodile in the Fitzroy River had snatched a 16-month-old Rottweiler puppy named Nigel from the front yard of a home in nearby Port Curtis, Yahoo News reported.

There have been no officially recorded crocodile attacks on humans in the river, according to The Guardian, but Queensland authorities have recorded four sightings in the area since the start of the year and have posted reminders near the river to be “Crocwise”.

The government’s tips for boaters in crocodile habitat areas include keeping arms and legs away from the water, treating a boat or trailer as a barrier when launching or loading, and avoiding kayaks or other small craft because “crocodiles have taken people from small vessels.”