Hundreds of keen competitors hit the water for Albany Surf Life Saving Club’s New Year’s Eve Swim

There were strong numbers at the seventh edition of the annual New Year’s Eve Swim, run by the Albany Surf Life Saving Club at Middleton Beach on Saturday morning. A total of 134 competitors of all ages converged on the beach to take part in long-course and short-course distances in calm conditions. After a briefing from event organiser Rob Mason, 24 swimmers hit the water for the 500m short-course race. Junior female champion Sophia Riddell and junior male champion Mitchell Eley were the first to emerge from the water and sprint to the finish line. Neck-and-neck throughout the race, Riddell claimed glory in the 500m, completing her swim in a time of 9min. 9sec. to narrowly beat Eley’s time of 9:10. Neve Grant was the junior female runner-up while Jack Rowe was the junior male runner-up. The short-course male seniors title went to Andrew De Groot with a time of 9:40 while Sam Blake (10.34) claimed female seniors honours in a solid swim. After the 500m races, 61 swimmers took part in the 1.5km and 49 competed in the 3km race. In the 1.5km race, Oliver Pass’ outstanding effort earned him first place among the junior males, stopping the clock at 26:29 while the seniors group set the pace with Samuel Moir finishing strong with a time of 24:27. Chasing Moir out of the water was senior female competitor Jessica Van Der Walt, who finished first in her category with a time of 25:41 followed by Sandra Peake. Runner-up for the senior male category in the 1.5km was Ken Willis while runner-up in the junior groupings was Max Roots. It was another close finish in the 3km race between the champion male and female swimmers. Angus Bowles completed the long course in a timely 43:17 in the senior male division. But senior female swimmer Christine Murray took the race honours, completing the 3km in 42:51 also winning the senior female category. Alyssa Peake was outstanding in the junior female 3km race, storming home with an impressive time of 49:05. There were no competitors in the junior male 3km division.