Along with hundreds of others, Abigail Wroe, Terry Wright, Claire Moore, Holly Moore, and Amy Vaal, took the plunge to complete either a 3.8km or 5km swim in the Olympic rowing. There was also the choice of a 950 metre swim or 1.9 kilometre swim, but considering the amount of metres completed in training that wasn’t a big enough challenge!
First into the 17 degree lake were Holly and Claire in the 3.8km swim. This included two laps of a 1.9km route mapped out by buoys.
Holly swam an impressive 45.43mins in the 3.8km, and finished 13th overall (6th female to finish). In the same event, experienced masters swimmer Claire finished in a time of 51.24, coming 2nd in her category and 29th overall. For both swimmers, it was their first open water experience.
Whilst Holly and Claire recovered from their swims, Abi, Terry and Amy took to the water to complete the 5km swim, two 2.5km laps. The lane buoys for the rowers came in very useful, helping most swimmers to stay in a straight line.
There was tough competition between the 3 swimmers, but after a sprint finish, Terry came out of the water first in a time of 1.14.07, winning his category and coming 8th overall. Just two seconds behind was Amy, who after managing to go off course at the end of the first lap, came 9th overall and was 2nd female to finish. Abi was not far behind and came 12th overall in a time of 1.16.12. She was also the 3rd fastest female on the day.
Overall, it was a very successful day for the Bracknell swimmers.
Results Link: http://www.f3events.co.uk/