Mick DiBetta. A lifetime of Lifesaving, Prone Paddling & Coaching at the highest levels

For nearly four decades, Mick DiBetta’s life has revolved around the ocean; saving lives, racing across it, and coaching some of the world’s best athletes how to master it.

Growing up in Brisbane and traveling to Australia’s Gold Coast every weekend, Mick came through the fiercely competitive world of surf lifesaving and ultimately became a professional Gold Coast lifeguard, a career that would span nearly 40 years. Along the way, he developed into one of Australia’s greatest prone paddleboard racers and won multiple Australian and World Surf Life Saving titles. The world of lifesaving and racing exposed him to Hawaii; where the islands and the people left a massive mark on him… and have been a huge part of his life ever since.

It’s no coincidence that his defining racing moment came in Hawaii. In 1997, Mick entered the inaugural Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard World Championship (M2O,) tackling 32 miles of the notoriously unpredictable Kaiwi Channel; and won it in 5:22:48. That victory helped establish M2O as the ultimate proving ground in prone paddling and cemented Mick’s place in the sport’s history; and its future.

Yet Mick’s influence may be even greater as a coach. A Level 3 accredited Surf Life Saving Australia coach, he transformed decades of racing experience into a science-based training system called AllPaddling; and has coached his athletes to 16 M2O victories, including Jamie Mitchell and his unprecedented 10 consecutive titles. Incredible.

In 2026, Mick completed the historic Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race after considering it for decades. His 9th place finish, in his 60’s not only places his name on the iconic Bob Hogan Trophy but kept his incredible record going… a record of 26 x 32 mile channel crossing races; ALL completed in the TOP 10 and ALL in sub six hours. These are incredible and monumental achievements… and one that puts Mick in rarified air; amongst some of the best watermen in the world. Period.

Mick hasn’t simply competed in prone paddling; he’s helped shape generations of it.