SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- The South African triathlete stepped to the edge of the dock, pulled on his goggles and prepared to dive into Sydney Harbor for a warmup swim before the official test run of the Olympic triathlon.

 "Here comes the shark bait," Conrad Stoltz joked to a bunch of Olympic volunteers.

 The triathlon course, which starts and finishes on the plaza in front of Sydney's landmark Opera House, got its first workout on a sunny, warm Sunday morning (Saturday night EDT).

 And while many competitors have wondered what they'll encounter in the placid harbor, any sharks who wandered onto the course Sunday got quite a charge out of the event.

 That's because the practice run also was the first official Olympic trial of the "sharkpod," which sends out low frequency electromagnetic shocks to repel sharks. The devices were strapped to five divers who escorted the triathletes throughout the harbor and will do the same during the Sydney Games.

 A two-pound yellow and black sharkpod box was attached to the oxygen tank of each diver, and a transmitter was strapped to the right fin of each diver. One diver also had a six-inch knife strapped to his right leg, but he said it was for stray buoy ropes and not for menacing fish.

 "There are no sharks in the harbor, there never have been," said David Moore, a Sydney high school student who is taking a study break before exams by volunteering as an Olympic anti-shark diver. "It's all a total joke."

 Nic Martin, the dive team leader and a former mine-clearer for the Australia Royal Navy, agreed there was virtually no chance of a shark attack at the games. But he said his team is there to reassure competitors.

 "It's understandable for athletes from regions that have no shark activity to have that fear," he said. "It's like if I went to the southeastern United States and didn't know what to expect about the alligators."

 The last reported shark attack in Sydney Harbor was two years ago. The last fatal attack was in 1963.

 Men and women both participated Sunday in the test triathlon, which includes a 1,500-meter swim, a 25-mile (40-kilometer) bicycle course through Sydney's business district and the Botanical Gardens, and a 6 1/4- mile (10-kilometer) run.

 Triathlon is making its Olympic debut in Sydney, and the women's triathlon this upcoming Saturday will be the first event at the Sydney Games in which a medal is awarded. The men's triathlon will be the following day.

 The plaza in front of the Opera House was transformed from its usual scene of finely dressed concertgoers into a staging area for the triathlon, with athletes stripping off wetsuits as they raced from the water to their bicycles.

 Sailboats and ferries crisscrossed the harbor not far from the triathlon course. A dinghy sped across the course, causing a wake to warn male triathletes there had been a false start and they had to return to the starting line.