Swimming WA’s Open Water Swimming (OWS) Series concluded its 2022/23 season with a bang on Saturday, March 25, at The Marina, Mindarie. The event was proudly supported by the City of Wanneroo and The Marina, Mindarie and attracted more than 250 swimmers from all over the state.
Competitors had a choice of distances ranging from 500m, 1.25km, 2.5km (Quinns Beach to Marina), to the Elite Marina Mile. Making the day even more special, Australian Dolphin’s Kyle Lee (North Coast) and the newly announced Australian Dolphin Jack Wilson (North Coast) attended as part of our Elite category, participating in the Elite Marina Mile. And boy, did they bring their A-game!
Kyle Lee finished the 1.6km swim in first place, with Jack Wilson just a couple of seconds behind and Hayden Ferguson (Westside Christchurch) coming in third. In the Female Elite category, North Coast’s Rosie Wilson claimed the top spot, followed by Westside Christchurch’s Bianca Monaco in second and Chloe Truscott (North Coast) in third.
Earlier, in the Men’s 500m Open, Lucas Fackerell (Breakers) emerged victorious, while Jaimee Traeger (South Shore) took the title for the Women’s 500m Open. The 1.25km winners were Kate Wallington (South Shore) for the Women’s Open and Monty Stork (Southside Penrhos Wesley) for the Men’s Open. Damon Brown claimed the Men’s Open category in the 2.5km, while Brienna O’Sullivan (Rockingham) came in first for the Women’s Open category.
Towards the end of the day, the End of Season Presentations saw series winners announced, with Niamh Dickson from Southside Penrhos Wesley taking the shield for the Female Under 14 category, and Owen Rowland from Breakers winning the Male Under 14 category. Jaimee Traeger from South Shore was declared the winner of the Female Open category, with Giacomo Lucivero from Bunbury taking the Male Open category. Gerry Fallara was crowned the Female Legends category champion, while Trevor Van Aurich won the Male Legends category. The coveted Female Elite title went to Bianca Monaco from Westside Christchurch, and the Male Elite title was won by the unstoppable Byron Kimber, also from Westside Christchurch.
City of Wanneroo Mayor Linda Aitken handed out medals to winners and highlighted the importance of events like this in bringing the community together.
“We’re proud to support Swimming WA and The Marina, Mindarie to bring the final event for the Open Water Swimming Series to the City of Wanneroo,” she said.
“It’s fantastic to see so many members of our community supporting the participants and enjoying the beautiful weather.”
Thank you to our MC, Will Rollo and everyone who attended our End of Season Presentation! We introduced new concepts this year, including the Elite category, point to point events and Duos/Teams. Thank you to our sponsors, officials, event team and local councils for their ongoing support. And lastly, a big thank you to all the swimmers who make our events possible! We can’t wait to see what the next season has in store!
For full results from The Marina Swim, click here.
For full results from the Open Water Swimming Series, click here.
We want to hear from you! By completing our end of season survey, you'll have the chance to win a free season's membership with entry included into all rounds. To fill out the survey, click here.
