Hundreds of swimmers took advantage of record breaking weather to take to the seas in the rescheduled Poole leg of the 2011 Speedo Open Water Swim Series.
With the original event on the 11th of September becoming a casualty of adverse weather conditions, the revised date of Sunday 2nd October saw blue skies, bright sunshine and temperatures approaching 30 degrees – perfect weather for those either swimming or watching the action from one of the many vantage points along the waterfront at Sandbanks.
After registering in the salubrious surroundings of the Sandbanks Hotel, swimmers made their way across the beach to the start area, making quite a spectacle for beach goers more used to seeing sunbathers than hundreds of wetsuit-clad open water swimmers. The course followed the beach west, giving swimmers a unique perspective of the Sandbanks peninsula before turning and coming back to finish in front of the crowds of spectators gathered at the Sandbanks Hotel.
First off was the 750 metre wave, with Lauren Harrison taking the overall win in 11 mins 56 seconds, almost two minutes ahead of Ronnie McClure in second place and first male. Next up saw the 1500 metre swim with Seb Leather coming home first in 21 minutes 33 seconds ahead of Joshua Kelleher in 23.06 and Steve Iley in 24.12. Alice Mills took the win in the ladies 1500 with a 24.57 that was also good enough for fifth overall. Second lady was Madeleine Bertorelli in 27.20 with Lou Griffiths just behind in 27.49.
Last off was the main event, with Steven Hurley taking the honours over the 3k distance in a time of 40mins and 17 seconds. Hurley was hotly pursued all the way by Gary Dresser who finished just 28 seconds behind in second place with Matt Baker taking third in 42.12. Hannah Drewett narrowly missed out on the overall podium finishing just one second behind Baker, but her fourth place did see her easily triumph in the female category with Eloise Crowley second in 44.25 and Emma Baird third in 44.59, putting three women in the top ten overall over the longer distance.
There was also a ‘race within a race’ across all three distances among those brave enough to tackle the event without the aid of a wetsuit. In the 3k race Alexandra Christie was the first home in 49 mins 28 secs, with John-Paul Flavell first in the 1500m in 25.21 and Liz Torode taking the non-wetsuit honours in the 750m in 15.09.
The Speedo Open Water Swim Series will return in 2012 with swims in Poole, Eton, Hampton Court, Marlow and Windsor, with more great venues to be announced very soon!
Full results can be found in the Poole Swim Results and Gallery.
