Challenge is a Magnetic attraction
MORE than 100 swimmers will pitch themselves against the ocean and the wild conditions Mother Nature may throw at them during the gruelling Salt 66 Magnetic Island to Townsville Swim.
This year marks the 64th anniversary of the iconic open water swim.
Townsville Open Water Swimming Association committee member Kylee de Roy said a total of 103 swimmers had entered Sunday’s swim, starting at Picnic Bay and finishing on The Strand.
“We’ve got a lot of interest from southerners in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. It’s a very iconic race,” Ms de Roy said.
She said the interest surrounding the annual swim correlated with the rising popularity in open water swimming. While the waters off Townsville are home to crocodiles and sharks, de Rooy said the presence of these predators did not deter swimmers.
“People who do the island swim have taken that into consideration. You’re not going to find someone petrified of crocodiles here,” she said. “The fact that there’s so much ( support) craft, it gives them peace of mind.”
She said it was 11 years since swimmers stopped using aluminium cages during this swim, opening it up to more swimmers and making it more popular.
Among those competing this year is Townsville lifeguard Scott Mellor, who will have first- hand knowledge of the swim’s unique challenges.
De Rooy said the swim also drew in athletes from other disciplines such as triathlons and Iron Man events.
“We’ve worked with other clubs, they can use it as part of their training,” she said.
De Rooy said there were 53 solo swimmers, five teams of four and 15 duos. The team competitors would swim for either 2km or 4km depending on the team numbers.
Winning swimmers are expected to finish in a time of about 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Sunday’s swim starts on Magnetic Island at 7.40am.