Howick – Local swimmers dominated the podium on Sunday morning at the aQuellé Midmar Mile in warm and overcast conditions.
Meanwhile, iconic 80-year-old Mike “Buthy” Arbuthnot completed his cleansweep of 80 swims in the race’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
Durban star schoolgirl Tasmin-Lee Tennant won the day’s first race in the 13-and-under age category, leading the older women home. Tennant, an 800m freestyle specialist, hit the front early on and maintained her pace to record a very convincing victory in 21 minutes and 52 seconds, over 50 seconds ahead of second placed Robyn Kinghorn, with Charlise Oberholzser finished third, all from Action Swim Academy.
“I struggled a little bit with my line, but I figured it out in the end,” Tennant said after the victory, which came in her very first attempt. “I tried to hold the same speed the whole way,” she added, revealing the key to her win.
Stalwarts Heather Morris-Eaton and Barbara Bowley won their 31-40 and 41-49 age categories comfortably.
The boys’ and men’s age groups echoed their female counterparts, with local athletes dominating, despite the fact that the majority of entrants at this year’s event hailed from Gauteng.
Glenwood Reuben Schoeman added another KZN scalp by winning the boys 13-and-under title, winning from Luke Erwee and Cameron Pennell.
Schoeman said he used the element of surprise to drop his nearest challengers by sprinting away from the start. “I didn’t plan to sprint,” he said, “but I just decided to go all out. I’m very proud of myself.”
Terence Parkin, a long-time star of the Midmar Mile, placed first in a tightly contested men’s 31 to 40 age category ahead of Byron Dillon and Tony Shuttleworth, winning the event for the second year in a row.
Glen Gore repeated as champion in the 41 to 50 age group and Gregg Price achieved the feat in the 51 to 60 category.
Arbuthnot, founder of the event, is the only person to have officially competed in every edition of the event.
“It’s a helluva relief,” he laughed about reaching the milestone of 80 at 80. “It was very nice out there, and yesterday too, so it’s been a lucky weekend.”
Inspirational US swimmer Craig Dietz, who has no limbs, also completed his second swim, racing in his age category, and finished to a rousing welcome.
