After finishing 2nd the day before in the triathlon I was keep to have a good crack at the 2km Whitehaven Beach Ocean Swim. This swim is part of the ‘Great Australian Swim Series’ which also includes other events such as the 2km event in the Sydney Harbor held right next to the Sydney Opera House. I had the opportunity to run the Hamilton Island Golf Course that morning which was is very hilly 11km run with some of the most amazing views of Hamilton Island and surrounding ocean. Not the best preparation for a swim race but something I just couldn’t miss. Below is my view from the breakfast table.
Australian surf ironman and open water swimming legend Kye Hurst was without question the favourite to take out the event and my plan was pretty simple. Stick with him for as long as I possibly could. The water was very choppy with strong winds making for some very rough seas.
I postioned myself right next to Kye on the start line and as soon as the gun went off tried to match his pace. We turned the first swim marker with Kye having a small lead on myself and several other swimmers in tow. After a about 100 meters Kye and myself pulled away and I tried desperately to stick on his feet for as long as I could. I managed to stick with him for around 500 meters before he pulled away from me leaving me to swim along for the rest of the 1.5km’s.
The out and back swim alongside the beach was amazing to be apart of and I crossed the line in 2nd place a few minutes down on Kye in 1st. This was actually my first ever open water swimming race and to finish 2nd to one of the worlds best was a pretty good feeling.
My 2014 race season is now finished and I plan to have a few weeks off training before getting right back into it come early December. Thank you to all the team at Hamilton Island for an amazing weekend as well as to all my sponsors and supporters. I have been so happy with my year and am looking forward to stepping up to another level in 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment