Midmar Mile successes
The final day and main races of the popular aQuellé Midmar Mile attracted a full house and the festivities were all over the venue. Passionate swimming followers, friends, coaches and families patiently waited from the early hours of the day to see the explosive action from the elite athletes.
The men's elite race was won by Connor Buck in 17 minutes and 30 seconds. In second place was Henré Louw in 18,34, while the third place was claimed by Brendan Visser in 18,50.
Buck said the race was not easy and he worked very hard to stay upfront and to win the race.
"It was not easy at all and I knew that the guys around me are very good swimmers and expected a lot of competition from them," said Buck.
The women's elite section was won by the evergreen and hardworking Sharon van Rouwendaal (18,40), the runner-up was
Ashley Twitchell (18,44) and the third place went to Stephanie Houtman (19,42).
Rouwendaal lived up to her billing as the pre-race favourite while Buck claimed a second straight men's title at the Midmar Mile.
The Netherlands' Van Rouwendaal, who was visiting South Africa for the first time to take part in the world's largest open-water swimming event, dominated the women's race from the start.
"I was already challenged in the first 100 or 200 m, so I thought I need to get out of here and find the position in front and then just control whether people were trying to pass or not," said Van Rouwendaal, who claimed the Olympic marathon swimming gold in 2016 and silver in 2021. "Then I think around halfway I turned on my back and I saw there was only one person [close by] and I saw it was Ashley, so I knew I had to be careful … when I saw the finish, I thought I'd build it up a little bit to get the win."
The men's race had a more familiar feel to it as defending champion Buck stormed to the front and swam to the right of the field, just like he did a year ago.
The Durban swimmer managed to get himself back on track to win.
Pretoria's Louw was almost a minute back, finishing second in 18,34 with Buck's 17-year-old training partner Visser springing
a surprise in his first Midmar Mile by emerging from the unseeded swimmers and taking third place in the sprint finish, a fraction ahead of Ross Hartigan.
"My sighting wasn't very good," admitted Buck afterwards. "I'm a little bit colour blind so trying to see the orange buoys against the grass doesn't really work. I had to just try and look for the white tent at the finish the whole time.
"Coming into the race, I wasn't really sure what to expect. You never know what's happening with the currents and conditions on the day. I was just aiming to swim as fast as I possibly could and hope for the best, so it feels good."
Among the social pack on the day was 1977 Midmar champion Paul Blackbeard, who claimed top spot in the 61-70 category in a time of 21,06.
"It was nice swimming all together like that. The competitive thing comes out in all of us," said Blackbeard. "I had Covid recently though, so towards the end my lungs weren't working for the sprint.
"I started sprinting too early, but it was a good swim." The 1996 women's champion Sheona Lottering also battled with illness this past week before claiming victory in the 41-50 category.
Both completing their 49th Midmar Miles on Sunday were Gail Bristow, who finished in 27,18, and Martin Godfrey, who finished in 30,23.
Meanwhile, thousands more recreational swimmers made their way across the famous KwaZulu-Natal dam. Among them was former Bafana Bafana soccer star Mark Fish, who completed his sixth Midmar Mile with his 12-year-old daughter, Isabella.
The action was the final day of a memorable weekend of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the Midmar Mile, which featured several previous champions, founders and others flocking to the dam.
Main event results Women's elite
1. Sharon van Rouwendaal — 18,40
2. Ashley Twitchell — 18,44
3. Stephanie Houtman — 19,29
4. Tory Earle — 19,42
Men's elite
1. Connor Buck — 17,39
2. Henré Louw — 18,34
3. Brendan Visser — 18,50
4. Ross Hartigan — 18,50*