400 compete in challenging race

SOME 400 competitors took to the water for the 2019 San Remo Channel Challenge last Saturday at 3.15pm and hundreds of spectators lined the shore.
Organisers commented that it was great to see so many competitors turn up for the second running of the event after the February 9 event had to be cancelled due to dangerous weather conditions, the first time the event had to be cancelled in 34 years.
The swim started in San Remo on the mainland and crossed the Westernport Channel to Newhaven on Phillip Island.
After the competitors completed the swim leg they ran barefoot into the grassy transition area and after donning their running shoes they started the run back to San Remo. The event is a part of the Bass Coast Series series.
The run back up over the picturesque Phillip Island bridge to the township of San Remo spread the runners out, and made for a spectacular sprint to the finish line in the main street where the large crowds urged the participants on.
Last Saturday wasn’t all smooth sailing as the race had to be started before the tide stopped running and many swimmers said it was a tough 550 metre swim across the channel to Newhaven with many being swept towards the bridge.
But the sun shone and the event was well run by the Woolamai Beach Surf Life Saving Club that made sure it had plenty of rescue lifesavers to make sure all competitors made it safely across the channel.
Melbourne triathlete Marcel Walkington,25, blitzed the 550metre swim and two kilometre run aquathon event with a time of 11:25:6, well ahead of second placed overall and first placed female Tamsyn Moana-Velae, Melbourne 13:16:1 and third placed overall and first junior male Tristan Price, 13:20:8.
Nathan Buschtzuehl with a time of 13:47:4 was the second senior male across the line with James Folvig, Mount Martha,14:06:6 third.
Coming in second for the senior females was Emma Armstrong 14:26:5 and third was San Remo’s Chloe Butt who was also the first local female across the line with a time of 14:35:6.
First local male across the line was Walter Hiatt 14:18:3 with Mark Rowe, Wonthaggi second, 14:20:6 and Hayden Bruce third, 14:32:5
Luke Muir was the first junior male across the line with a time of 15:08:8 and second was Max Stafford, 15:19:2 and first junior female was Jordi Vaderkolk, 17:25:6, first veteran male was Rob Fleisner 14:37:8 and first veteran female was Virginia Baxter, 20:04:6.
Federal Member for McMillan Russell Broadbent attended and presented the Michael Gordon Memorial Trophy to the winner Marcel Walkington.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Mar 26 2019. Filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry