An impressive 849 competitors, including three members of the Moen family – Martin, Simon, and young Reuben – took on Round 5 of the Open Water Swimming (OWS) Series at Mullaloo Beach, proudly presented by the City of Joondalup.
The 1.25km event marked a special moment in the long-standing tradition of swimming within the Moen family. It was the youngest Moen, Reuben, who beat both his father Simon and grandfather Martin to the finish line.
"Yeah, I beat my father, and my father beat my grandfather, but we all did very well, I think," Reuben said.
The Moen family's journey into swimming all started with Martin. "When my son, Simon, started Surf Life Saving, I was standing around watching. They were doing the flags and the swim, so I thought I may as well join in. Eventually, I got a mature-age bronze medal, and that’s really when it started, some 35 years ago," Martin recalled.
It was Simon who followed in his father’s footsteps, and the two have swum together ever since. "My father and I have swum together since I was about 10. We swim during the week and never stop swimming, so that’s about 40 years of swimming together. In recent times, we’ve had an addition who swims with Central Aquatic, under Wayne de Lacy," Simon said.
Young Reuben, who has now followed in the tradition, shared a piece of advice. "Keep swimming – there were a couple of jellyfish out there, and I did get stung, but just keep swimming."
In the Men's 10km event, Westside Christ Church teammates Andrew Morris and Thomas Dreverman (c: Jon Harrison) set a blistering pace, with Morris finishing first in a time of two hours, two minutes and 15.2 seconds. The race was no easy feat, particularly as the weather conditions grew tougher with each passing lap.
"The last two laps were pretty brutal, but the first kilometre was pretty good. Then, yeah, it got rough, and the wind came in, but I’m happy with it – good race practice for nationals," Morris explained.
"I was surprised I had that much left for the finish. We try to practice the back end, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. It happened today, so I’m happy with it."
Dreverman, who crossed the line second in two hours, three minutes and 27.5 seconds, commented: "We pretty much led one lap each, drafting off each other. Staying behind him (Andrew) made it so much easier. When I was out in front, it was just like pushing, and it was so hard. I'm very happy with that time. I wasn’t sure I’d make it the last two laps, but I finished strong and made it."
Dreverman is looking forward to his first national 10km event at the 2025 Australian Open Water Championships.
The champion female in the 10km event was Rebecca Weller (Rockingham, c: Ryan Spencer), who clocked a time of two hours, 15 minutes and 8.5 seconds.
"I definitely found the second half very challenging, but it’s always good to swim against the wind in preparation for Rottnest coming up. I’m pretty happy with that time, especially considering the wind. I dug in deep for the finish," Weller said.
Weller is preparing for the Rottnest Channel Swim, where she was the winning female back in 2017.
