Dolphins make a splash in Darwin at the inaugural Australian Open Water Cup

Dolphins Chelsea Douyere (nee Gubecka), Nick Sloman and Thomas Raymond headlined this morning’s racing of the inaugural Australian Open Water Cup at Darwin waterfront with a field of more than 50 contesting the 5km ocean swim and 3km knockout sprint event.

Fresh off Australia’s most successful open water campaign in Singapore recently, Douyere (Yeronga Park) and Sloman (Melbourne Vicentre) won their respective 5km and 3km events over the 500m course with the women and men lining up together on the start line of the longer distance.

In all, more than 10 interstate clubs raced alongside the local Darwin and Territory athletes in the first of four legs of the Series which then next moves to Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales.

Raymond, celebrating his successful rookie debut in Singapore with a new-look chest tattoo of his Dolphin number, built upon his World Championships’ experience to place second in the 5km and third in the 3km behind Noosa clubmate Ben Wainman.

Paralympian Brenden Hall, staging in Darwin ahead of the Singapore World Para Championships, joined the 5km open water event for some extra training.

The best three results over the four legs of the Australian Open Water Cup series will result in points allocated towards the Australia Cup trophy and points will be used to provide additional funding to attend Leg 1 of the 2026 World Aquatics World Cup.

Swimming Australia Open Water head coach Fernando Possenti said: “Darwin was a great first location for the (Australian Open Water) Cup and it was great to see the local community turn up and support.”

“The waterfront venue was perfect for athletes racing the new 3km knockout event and a great spot for spectators to show their support.

“It was a valuable racing opportunity, especially for junior athletes who will now get the chance to race against and learn from Olympians like Chelsea and Nick, again and again.”

The second leg of the Australian Open Water Cup will be held in Coolum, Queensland on 25 October 2025.

Results:

• Men’s 5km: 1^st Nick Sloman, 2^nd Tom Raymond, 3^rd Ben Wainman
• Women’s 5km: 1^st Chelsea Gubecka, 2^nd Sienna Deurloo, 3^rd Emily Broun
• Men’s 3km: 1^st Nick Sloman, 2^nd Ben Wainman, 3^rd Tom Raymond
• Women’s 3km: 1^st Chelsea Gubecka, 2^nd Sienna Deurloo, 3^rd Emily Broun