Thursday evening brought sunshine and warm water at 21.5°C, with 99 swimmers lining up across the 400m-ish short course and 1100m-ish long course. Numbers were slightly down this week, but conditions were kind and the simple looped courses made for honest, flowing racing.
On the long course non-wetsuit, it was a tight contest between the leading juniors. James Boocock claimed the win in 17:06.3, just 2.5 seconds ahead of Finbar Hansen in 17:08.8. Louis Olsen rounded out the top three in 19:08.1. In the women’s non-wetsuit race, Francesca Harris led home in 19:39.7, followed by Jude Vincent (20:54.6) and Pamela Olmedo-Rojas (25:01.5).
The long course wetsuit field was quick, with Tegen Stewart first overall in 16:19.1. Eddie Swain followed in 16:29.4 and Max Stanton in 16:33.7, making it a strong showing from the 16–19 age group.
Over the short course, Rodney Hansen took the non-wetsuit win in 12:41.9 ahead of Kieran Brownlees (14:16.7), with Emma Ritchie third overall and first woman in 16:13.8. In the wetsuit race, Chloe Styles set the pace in 10:16.3, followed by Riley Kenyon (10:39.7), while Dave Taylor completed the podium in 12:51.8.
Thank you to our volunteers for keeping everyone safe and organised, and to our series sponsor Rylock Windows & Doors for their continued support.
A reminder that this Sunday is Race 2: Rylock 2km Eyebright Mile 2026, part of our Swim Endurance Series.Please make sure you sign up online for this event — registration is separate from the Thursday night swims. If you’re ready to stretch out to 2km, now’s your chance.
