Ultimate open water swim comes to life in Sun City
All the swimmers competed in three distances: 3km and 1.5km swimming competitions were for serious swimmers, while the 600m Fun Swim was all about having a splashing good time.
The 2018 annual Dis-Chem Swim event was held among the swaying palms, lush tropical gardens and crystal waters of the Sun City resort on Saturday.
Thousands of swimmers, young and old enjoyed their time in the crystal-clear waters.
All the swimmers competed in three distances: 3km and 1.5km swimming competitions were for serious swimmers, while the 600m Fun Swim was all about having a splashing good time.
Lifeguards were on standby throughout the North West swimming event to ensure participants’ safety.
Ruan Breytenbach, from Pretoria, finished third in the 3km swim.
“The swim was enjoyable and challenging at the same time, it took me a good 45 minutes to finish which is not that bad. I’m happy to finish third and always feels good to swim,” he said.
“The water was perfect but after 30 minutes, it becomes tougher because I’m not really used to open water swim. I usually compete in the indoor and outdoor pool events.”
Breytenbach, who attends the British International College, said his focus was to improve and add to his medal tally.
“I was recently in Algeria where I managed to win two Silvers and a Bronze,” said the 16-year-old.
Chris Mcglynn, who finished second in the men’s 3km swim, said the ultimate open-water swimming was always a challenge.
“It feels great to be back, this is my first big swim in four years and I’m happy that I managed to finish in 43 minutes,” said the returning Mcglynn.
The Dis-Chem Sun City Swim is a fun day for families, with sponsors involved in making the event entertaining and enjoyable.
Spot prizes were given to randomly selected swimmers, while prize money was awarded to winners of the swimming competitions, according to age categories.
“We would like to thank every late entrant who decided to come through to Sun City this morning and go for a swim. We had almost 800 late entries, which has never happened before, and this has resulted in some swimmers not receiving a medal,” Dis-Chem said.
Those without medals were instructed to email their details to Suncity marketing.
The top three men in 3km swim were Chad Ho, Chris Mcglynn and Ruan Breytenbach.
Top honours in the women’s 1.5km swim went to Michelle Weber, Robyn Kinghorn and Samantha Randle while Hannah Robertson won the women’s 3km swim.
Photo: Eliot Mahlase
Photo: Eliot Mahlase
Photo: Eliot Mahlase
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