A perfect morning for the Sri Chinmoy 5km, 2.5km and 500m lake swims at Yarralumla Bay. The water was silky smooth and the skies were clear. Close to 100 swimmers arrived to test out the waters and their abilities over the three distances, affording everyone an opportunity to feel the thrill of racing again!
Our 5km warriors set off first, tackling 4 laps of the 1.25km course, giving us all at the shore a thrill as they came motoring in each time to start their next lap. The clear leader from the start was Harry Braddick, with a swimming style that was a joy to watch as he approached the shore to finish in a time of 1:08:35. 2nd place went to James Waldersee in a great time of 1:21:38 and not far behind him Peter Debeljakovic in 1:24:35. In the women's under 50 category, Emi Cashman took out the honours in a time of 1:16:01 and also comfortably claimed second overall, emerging from the water looking fresh and strong. Second place went to Orlanda Sexton in 1:24:26 and third place to Ashleigh Webb in a time of 1:26:35.
Nicolee Martin swam one of the performances of the day to set a new course record for the Female 50-59 in the 5km race, with a fine 1:28:51; while Janet Gorst continued her stirling form in the F60-69 with 1:50:10. Perry Blackmore won the M50-59 category in 1:20:55; while Graeme Wolfenden took out the M60-69 in 1:36:42.
In the 2.5km race, Tyler O'Keefe led from the start, with a course record time of 34:32!! No wonder when second place Gregory Smart came in with the excellent showing of 37:34, he hadn't seen Tyler even out in the distance. Third place went to Billy Nicoletti in 45:02. We might be able to see course record for the Sri Chinmoy National Capital 10km Length of the Lake being broken later this year, if Tyler gets a team together.
Taking out the Women's 2.5km event, Megan O'Neill won in 43:36, with Amy Dwyer coming in 2nd with 45:35, followed close behind by third place Kim Louw in a time of 46:27.
Our Men's 70 and over record in the 2.5km was also smashed today with Trevor Scott's time of 46:23, taking over two and a half minutes from the previous course record set in 2016.
Anne Smyth who currently holds the record for the Women's 50-59 in the 2.5km can now add a new record to her name. Anne won the Women's 60-69 race in the 2.5km in 45:14, taking a whooping 7 minutes off the previous record time.
In our sprint race today over 500m, first place in the Male 17 and over went to Jeremy Chen, in a time of 10:32, followed closely by Greg Little in 10:52, with third place going to Toby Smith in a time of 12:23. The Women 17 and over first place went to Heather Lansdowne in 10:15, second going to Brittany Meers in 11:08 and third to Lucy Jesiolowski in a time of 12:44.
Much gratitude to all for coming to enjoy a morning out on the lake, test your fitness and enjoy some great company, we look forward to seeing you all at our next race.
