The 2019 edition of Australia’s famed Lorne Pier to Pub open water race took place today, with Junior Pan Pacific Championships multiple gold gold medalist Lani Pallister topping the podium. With the ocean course running from the Lorne Pier to the foreshore in front of the GMHBA clubhouse, nearly 5,000 competitors, both amateur and professional alike, took to the open water in a 1.2k race and 5k race.
In the women’s 1.k race, which takes place in Victoria, Australia, Pallister took the women’s open title in a time of 12:19.
16-year-old Pallister has demonstrated her versatility in spades in recent months. In addition to her triple golds in Fiji, Pallister swept her pool rescue and surf events last November’s National Open at the Lifesaving World Championship.
The men’s 1.2k saw Hayden Cotter repeat his gold medal victory from last year, with runner-up from 2018 Sam Sheppard, also hitting the time pad in the same finishing position as last year. Sheppard did go on to win the men’s open 5k race, while Zoe Whitfield took the top prize in the women’s 5k.
In its 39th year, the Lorne Pier to Pub has drawn Olympic-level talent throughout its duration, including last year’s 3rd and 4th place finishers Mack Horton and Gregorio Paltrinieri.
Unfortunately during this 2019 edition, a 65-year-old male racer died, having been pulled from the water by paramedics. No further information is available at this time.
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