Black first in open water race
PEARSON pupil Slater Black won the wetsuit category of the Jendamark Bell Buoy Challenge in near-perfect swimming conditions off Pollok Beach on Saturday morning.
Black, 17, won in a time of 58 minutes and 49 seconds in conditions that could not have been better for the 5km event.
The swimmers started by heading 2.5km directly out to sea to round the nautical bell buoy, where the ocean currents make for extremely tough swimming.
The richest open water swimming race in the Eastern Cape, with a prize pool of R42 000, saw reigning aQuellé Ocean Racing Series champion and NMB River Mile winner Amica de Jager, of NMU, win the women’s wetsuit category in a record time of 59 minutes and 13 seconds.
Former Springbok swimmer Kevin Richards placed second in the men’s wetsuit category ahead of promising open water swimmer Heinrich Vorster.
Competing for the first time, Tracy Gous was second in the women’s wetsuit swim ahead of Liza Kingston.
SA swimming legend Gary Albertyn, 49, of Pretoria, won the men’s swimsuit category in one hour, four minutes ahead of Cape Town’s Andrew Turner and Port Elizabeth swimmer PJ Duffy in third.
Black’s sister Paige, 15, won the women’s swimsuit category in a time of one hour, 12 minutes ahead of Albertyn’s wife, Megan, and De Jager’s sister, Chane.
This year saw a record entry of 155 swimmers taking part, with 47% of the field being first-timers.