The Bold And Beautiful: 2025 OceanSwim Festival Community Swim Day

COMMUNITY SWIM DRAWS BUMPER CROWD TO BUSSELTON

A RECORD crowd flocked to Busselton foreshore to swim through the iconic Western Australia jetty as the community swim – on the same course as the Australian Open Water Championships – cracked more than 650 participants today.

With water temperature a warm 24.8, athletes in the community event – which featured six races over varying distances – accounted for more than half the record number of athletes taking part in the 2025 Australian Open Water Championships and OceanSwim Festival.

West Australian teenager Alby Thompson, 10, drove almost 200km with his family to compete in the 500m swim and organisers – after seeing Alby miss the swim-out to the start – was popped on a jet ski to join a field in time.

Joining him in the 500m event was Cath Watson, 64, who took up ocean swimming as therapy following surgery on a brain aneurism.

“I was nearly dead but now I can walk and swim … and it’s just so peaceful and calming to be in the water.” To which her friend Linda Stenning, 54, said: “That was Cath’s first ever competition and swimming has given her a new opportunity in life … and now we are looking at Masters Games in Canberra later this year!”

Swimmers from the age of nine – the youngest being Ava Sciffer from Sydney – through to 75-year-old Monique Gilks competed across events that ranged from 500m through to 10km.

In the mixed 14-15 years 4x1500m relay, Olivia Galea set up her St Peters Western teammates with a cracking opening leg, followed by Oliver Koehlitz, Kira Semenets, and William Thorpe to win gold with Revesby Workers second (Jayden Schipp, Jennifer Tzikas, Analise Nicotra, Thomas Valassis) and Rocky City (Bailee Love, Mackenzie Wyeth, Jordan Hodgetts, Jake Hodgetts) third.

Tomorrow marks the final day of racing at the Australian Championships with all age groups, including open, contesting the course over five kilometres and for the men’s and women’s open category first place will automatically cement their ticket to Singapore World Swimming Championships in July.

Local Kyle Lee will attempt to win his third gold medal at these nationals in the men’s open 5km after winning the open men’s 10km and the mixed 4x 1.25km open relay earlier this week.

A cracking women’s open 5km field will see the likes of 10km national champion Moesha Johnson, Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci, who won bronze behind Johnson (silver) in Paris, Doha world champion Chelsea Gubecka and defending national champion Tayla Martin.

Pictured: Max Crane & Jade Collins