In the early morning of Sunday 17th July, Human Race saw nearly 2000 fearless swimmers take to the Thames to tackle the 2.2 mile, downstream, point-to-point course from Hampton Court to Kingston Bridge for the most popular event of the 2011 Speedo Open Water Swim Series.
Closely following Goodman out of the water was Derek Sansom who, having been denied a podium position in the Windsor Swim a few weeks back, finished with a strong time of 00.45.11. Donal Harte, who previously won the Windsor 3km distance, battled it out till the last stroke with Sansom but was pipped at the post and came in at third place with 00.45.12. Strong performances were also seen from Hare and Baker who both shared a time of 00.45.21, just a quarter of a second after Goodman.
Outstanding performances were also seen from the elite women - in particular Danni Pryor from Birmingham University who came in as first women and sixth elite. Providing the leading men with a challenge and swimming strongly in third place at times, Danni swam within the top six elites throughout and finished in 00.45.22, beating her previous years time of 00.45.34. Finishing in a strong second place for the ladies was Natalie Barnard with a time of 00.47.43 and coming in third place in 00:51:40 was Katie Stanley from Farnham Triathlon Club.
The most outstanding performance of the day must be handed to Mark Billyard of Romford Town Swim Club, who, having swum with incredible form and pace in the performance wave, came across the finish line in style with an exceedingly quick time of 00:44:52 therefore crowning him as the fastest swimmer of the 2011 Hampton Court Open Water Swim. A noteworthy performance must also be accredited to Lucy Bowen of Thames Turbo who came home to win the public wave, ahead of the first male, with an impressive time of 00:54:12.
However, as with every race, Sundays’ swim event was not just about the athletes at the front. There were audacious performances across the field where experienced open water swimmers, seasoned triathletes and brave first-timers joined together to take part in what was a great day and a great physical challenge fuelled with a great race day atmosphere.
We caught up with Spencer Goodman, the winner of the men’s elites, after the race. “1,800 people, that’s pretty cool, never seen so many people getting for excited for a swim race… I think anybody can do this it doesn’t matter how fast you are’’.
Charles Austin, who was the oldest man to compete on Sunday and came home with a great 01:17:37 time, thoroughly enjoyed the Hampton Court Swim. ‘’It was hard work but a lovely place to swim. Get yourself fit, swim and enjoy it… try something new for a change’’.
Full Hampton Swim results and a selection of photos from the day can be found on the Results and Gallery Page.
The Marlow Swim is next in the series (1500m / 3km) on Sunday 21st August and following this Poole on the 11th September plays host to the great opportunity for a sea swim at Sandbanks. For more information and online entry, go to the Speedo Open Water Swim Series Website.
