Swimmers from The Armidale School made up more than a quarter of all entries in the Beachside Radiology 2km Coffs Harbour Ocean Swim this morning (Sunday 2 April), with a podium finish for student Lucy Fenwicke who was the third female overall. Competing in her third Coffs swim, Lucy crossed the finish line in 34 minutes 10 seconds and was 12th swimmer out of the water.
With the event in doubt until Saturday morning due to swells caused by Cyclone Debbie, the conditions were always going to be more challenging for competitors than in previous years.
“It was definitely more difficult than the previous two years because it was rough and choppy and the waves were much bigger making it more difficult to get your bearings,” said Lucy, who will compete in the girls 100m and 200m breaststroke at the Swimming Australia National championships Brisbane later this month.
“Coming back form the third buoy into the jetty was the definitely the hardest leg because I couldn’t see the buoy at all and didn’t have a single clue where I was. Maybe the challenging conditions were a reason why I enjoyed it more this year.”
Next out of the 72 swimmers for TAS and fifth in his age group was 13 year old Lucas Cotterill (32nd overall) in 38:53 then Sam Wright (49th overall) in 40:27.
The event has become a stable on the TAS adventure calendar, growing in popularity since two boys and one staff member first took part in 2003.
