Club and Community | 23 January 2026
Dolphins, dreams and drama on Day 2 of Open Water Nats
KING KYLE claimed his second gold medal in home waters, world champion Moesha Johnson slugged it out with the boys – including Japan’s promising male open water swimmer Miro Uchimura – and Generation Next showcased its talent at the Australian Open Water Championships and OceanSwim Festival at Bunbury today.
Kyle Lee, who won the men’s 10km yesterday by a Midas touch, led his North Coast club to a clear victory in the mixed 4x1500m relay while Johnson – swimming third in the same race – bumped and banged her way past Uchimura to help secure silver for her Miami teammates holding off Japan who claimed bronze.
The day’s racing also featured aspiring LA and Brisbane 2032 Olympic talent in the 14-15 years’ boys and girls 5km events as swimmers were chaperoned around the 1.25km course by dolphins.
In the 14 years 5km, Carlie’s Mia Hoo won gold in the girls’ race; Adam Fruscalzo (Nambour) won the boys’ 14 years; and Delinda Thompson (Nepean) won the girls’ 15 years and Mason Kopff the boys’ 15 years.
And in a landmark day for para swimming in Australia, an open water 3km event was held and recognised as a standalone national title event with 10 athletes competing across S7 to S19.
Kate Wallington (S19, City of Perth) crossed the line first in the women’s race with Ky Millican (S19,Goodlife) claiming gold in the men’s. Hornsby’s Maddison Hinds, who finished fourth, used today’s swim as part of her buildup to contest the World Cup in Sardina later this year.
Head Para coach Mel Tantrum said today’s historic event was part of Swimming Australia’s strategy to grow para open water swimming nationally, and to support World Para Swimming’s push to host open water events at the World Championships.
The Australian Open Water Championships & OceanSwim Festival blends high-performance racing with community focused events, including tomorrow’s featured community swim.
A variety of distances are on offer for the community swim, including 500m, 1.25km, 2.5km, 5km, 7.5km and 10km options, with registrations to be taken right up to race time via openwaterswimming.com.au.
FLASH QUOTES
4x1500m Mixed Relay:
Gold – North Coast
Kyle Lee, 4th swimmer
“The Japanese took it out last year and we know we had some good competition coming into this one with Miami and Japan. Seeing how good my teammates performed up front, Bianca (Monaco), Eleanor (Flowers) and Adam (Sudlow) all got me into a good lead, (so) I tried my best to close it and get the result we did. We’re very happy.”
Adam Sudlow, 3rd swimmer
“I was expecting to be a little bit further behind and chasing but the two girls up front (Monaco & Flowers) really put us in an excellent spot. So, for me, it was about getting to the front and trying to give Kyle (Lee) a bit of a gap coming into that last leg.”
Eleanor Flowers, 2nd swimmer
“Bianca (Monaco) is really good at starts, she can go so fast from outright and (is) good at holding her own ground. Then I just went second and it was set up perfectly, (I) just took a bit of drafting and then the boys (Sudlow & Lee) who can always finish it off really nice and strong, which is great.”
Bianca Monaco, lead swimmer
“We were definitely aware of (our) competition. We knew Miami would be really strong (and) we know Japan would be strong. So, it was more, for all of us, to try our best and be as tactical as we could and it turned out really well. (The water) was super nice. It got a little bit choppy out the back of the course but the water is so pretty and also to see some dolphins out there is really nice.”
Silver – Miami
Bailey Armstrong – 4th swimmer
“Kyle (Lee) just got bit of a start on us. I wanted to try and get him and I wanted the chance to try have that sprint finish with him because he’s got the title of ‘the king of the sprint finish’ and everyone would like a chance to knock off the king but unfortunately, not.
“I got a good race with the Japanese team which was a lot of fun. It was really competitive the whole way. I couldn’t shake him but it made for a really good race.”
Moesha Johnson – 3rd swimmer
When asked what was the strategy behind the sequencing of the race:
“So for us particularly, Mia (Feltham) is little bit new to open water so we wanted to try and not put her in the argy bargy and try and give her some clean water and put me in with the boys instead and just mix it up a little bit, it’s always interesting (to) try a few things a little bit differently.
“The race plan was to hold the boys’ feet as long as possible. I probably chose the wrong boy’s feet … (but) it ended up being a fight to the finish line between and the Japanese.”
Mia Feltham – 2nd swimmer
“It (the race) was pretty good. I went a little bit off course but apart from that it was a pretty good experience … that was my first relay and it’s pretty special to race with two Australian team members.”
Dougal Richmond – 1st swimmer
“It was just to get out from the start and create a bit of a gap from the other teams, like North Coast (who) had a girl leading off, and I feel like I did a decent job of that.”
Bronze – Japan
Miro Uchimura – 3rd swimmer
“Water nice … there were dolphins … very good 👍”
DAY 2 RESULTS
Girls’ 14 years 5km
1.Mia Hoo, 1:02:22.10 (Carlile); 2.Melina Dimitriadou-Pierce, 1:04:47.60 (Fenix); 3.Evie Nagy, 1:05:37.00 (Nepean)
Girls’ 15 years 5km
1.Delinda Thompson, 1:02:53.10 (Nepean); 2.Hannah Jamieson, 1:02:55.30 (Carlile); 3.Mackenzie Wyeth, 1:03:23.00 (Rocky City)
Boys’ 14 years 5km
1.Adam Fruscalzo, 59:29.30 (Nambour); 2.Willem Botha, 1:02:57.80 (SLC Aquadot); 3.Noah Morphett, 1:03:47.90 (Nepean)
Boys’ 15 years 5km
1.Mason Kopff, 59:08.10 (Sunshine Coast Grammar); 2.Ashton Bone, 59:15.10 (Gosford Stingrays); 3.Kobi Mead, 59:15.30 (SLC Aquadot)
Mixed 4×1.5km Freestyle Relay
1. North Coast (Bianca Monaco, Eleanor Flowers, Adam Sudlow, Kyle Lee), 1:00:06.40;
2. Miami (Dougal Richmond, Mia Feltham, Moesha Johnson, Bailey Armstrong), 1:01:14.00;
3. Japan (Sachika Kajimoto, Kiyomi Tani, Miro Uchimura, Taishin Nakagawa), 1:01:14.10; 3*.
3*. St Peters Western (Macy Beuzebille, Ella Reynolds, Riley Meares, William Thorpe), 1:04:03.30
*Third placed Australian relay team
Women’s 3km Multi Class
1.Kate Wallington S19, 35:21.40 (City of Perth); 2.Amie Holwill S19, 37:01.80 (Bunbury); 3.Amelia Steiner S19, 43:14.90 (St Andrew’s)
Men’s 3km Multi Class
1.Ky Millican S19, 37:38.40 (Goodlife); 2.Daniel Lill S14, 38:57.70 (Camden); 3.Ben Morrison S14, 39:09.00 (Miami)
