Olympians Headline Opening Day of Aus Open Water Champs

A RECORD number of athletes will swim through one of the most recognisable jetties in Australia – the iconic Busselton Jetty – as part of this week’s 2025 Australian Open Water Championships and OceanSwim Festival.

Today’s opening day of racing features Dolphins Paris Olympic quartet – Moesha Johnson, Chelsea Gubecka, Kyle Lee and Nick Sloman – all racing for the $50,000 prize purse on offer for the Top Eight finishers of the men’s and women’s 10km.

A cracking women’s field also includes Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci, who won bronze behind Johnson (silver) in Paris, defending champion Tayla Martin and St Peters Western’s Jacqueline Davison-McGovern.

The four-day event from January 23-26 in Busselton, some 220km southwest of Perth, is the first major Australian-based swimming event of the year and more than 400 athletes will hit the water, including a record field of 15 international swimmers.

With water temperature hovering around 22 degrees, early morning conditions are expected to be perfect for the men’s 10km race which also includes Dolphin Bailey Armstrong and Noosa’s stacked line up of Kilian Carrel, Dylan Murphy, Nolan Carrel and defending champion Thomas Raymond.

In the age events: cross-code athlete, Thomas Dreverman will contest the boys’ 18-19 years 10km event. The Perth local is part of Water Polo Australia’s 18 and under National Age Group Program squad announced for this year.

In the girls’ 18-19 years 10km event, Chloe Brodrick and Daisy Quinn have established themselves as ones to watch. Both junior Dolphins cracked the top 15 in the women’s 7.5km at the 2024 World Junior Open Water Championships in Italy in September.

The boys’ and girls’ 18-19 years 10km open water, and boys’ and girls’ 16-17 years 7.5km ocean swims are also part of today’s racing with selection for World Junior Championships on the line.

For the second year running, the event blends high-performance racing with the community focused OceanSwim races on January 26, attracting elite athletes and hundreds of amateur swimming enthusiasts.

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.

Spectators attending the OceanSwim Festival will also be treated to a number of onshore activities including music and entertainment.

Entries for this event are now open for both the Championship events as well as the OceanSwim community events, via the Swimming Australia events page.

The event is proudly supported by the Western Australian Government through Tourism WA’s Regional Events Program, funded by Royalties for Regions, and the City of Busselton.

Day 1 Program:

7.30am: Men’s 10km; Boys’ 18-19yr 10km

10.15am: Women’s 10km; Girls’ 18-19yr 10km

1.15pm: Boys’ 16-17yr 7.5km

1.20pm: Girls’ 16-17 7.5km