Openwater Issue 1, Summer 2016 | Page 10

WILLIAMSTOWN WOW

Event Preview

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Williamstown has a proud history of open water swimming, with their traditional Australia Day Swim being one of the very first organised open water swimming events in Victoria, 26 years ago.

December brings a change for the Williamstown Swimming and Life Saving Club, with their annual swim being brought forward and rebranded as the Williamstown Open Water Challenge (WOW Challenge). The race will also be part of the Victorian Open Water Championships with 5km and 10km events open to Swimming Victoria and Masters Swimming Victoria members, while the WOW Challenge offers a variety of distances across age group categories.

The day is shaping up to be a major sporting event for the area as the new WOW Challenge will be featuring the current world champion, Jordan Wilimovsky, lining up against some of Australia's finest swimmers. Wilimovsky, from the USA, will headline a star studded line-up. The current world champion is confirmed for the event and will go head to head with Melbourne’s own open water champion, the ‘Lion of Lorne’, Sam Sheppard and Brendan Casey from Santa Monica California, who won gold in the 10K at the junior Pan Pacs in August 2015.