2020 AUSTRALIAN OPEN WATER SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- January 25th-27th, 2020
- Brighton Jetty, Adelaide, South Australia
- Event site
- Open Water Selection Priority
- Live Results
- Schedule of Events
- Start Lists
Without the chaos of the start, the jockeying for position, the pacing, the drafting, or the head games of traditional open water events, Australia hosted the 3rd and final open-age event of the 2020 Australian Open Water Championships on Monday with the 5KM Time Trial events.
The races, which awarded winners the same AUD2,500 (USD1,670) cash prizes as the 5km and 10km races on Sunday and Saturday, respectively, featured swimmers leaving from staggered start times, swimming the 5km course mostly in isolation. Ultimately, the winners were the same as the 10km Australian Champions.
In the Men’s Race, Noosa’s Nick Sloman swam 54:39.86 to clear Canadian runner-up Jon McKay (55:21.95) by 42 seconds. Bailey Armstrong from Kawana Waters finished 3rd in 55:33.53. Dutchman Ferry Weertman, who won the regular 5km race on Sunday and the premier 10km race on Saturday, didn’t race in Monday’s time trial event.
Men’s 5KM Top 5 Finishers:
- Nick Sloman, Noosa, 54:39.86
- Jon McKay, Canada, 55:21.95
- Bailey Armstrong, Kawana Waters, 55:33.53
- Hayden Cotter, Belgravia, 55:43.41
- Thomas Raymond, Nudgee College, 57:51.51
In the Women’s Race, Kareena Lee, also of Noosa, won in 56:33.31. Maddie Gough, winner of the regular 5k (that Lee didn’t participate in) from Sunday, was only 3 seconds slower in 56:33.55.
Women’s 5KM Top 5 Finishers:
- Kareena Lee, Noosa, 56:33.31
- Maddie Gough, TSS, 56:36.55
- Kiah Melverton, TSS, 57:12.41
- Moesha Johnson, TSS, 58:52.96
- Maki Uchida, Japan, 59:51.94
With Noosa, home of Lee and Sloman, not entering a relay in the final mixed 4x.125km co-ed team race, it was the depth of TSS that led them to a comfortable win by over a minute in the relay event.
With Melverton and Gough pulling double duty, and anchored by Kai Edwards, TSS swam to a 58:18.57. Edwards was on the World Championship team last year in the 10km race but missed a top-4 finish on Saturday to continue his journey for Olympic qualifying to Doha, Qatar. They were joined by 19-year old Riley Clout.
Mixed 4×1.25km Relay Finishers:
- TSS ‘A’ – 58:18.57
- Kawana Waters – 59:33.52
- TSS ‘B’ – 1:00:20.46
- Miami – 1:00:56.46
- North Coast Swim Club – 1:00:59.57
When all the dust was settled, TSS Aquatics were crowned Champion Club from the weekend.