Inner Thoughts of a World-Class Open Water Swimmer

Trent Grimsey, arguably the world's best short-distance ocean swimmer who recently won the 2008 Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the 2008 RCP Tiburon Mile (shown on left), the Eyeline 1000 Noosa Ocean Swim and the 2009 Australian 5K and 10K Open Water Swimming Championships, will be competing in the 5K and 10K events at the World Swimming Championships in Rome.

We caught up with Trent during his preparations for Rome:


10Kswimmer: What is the allure of open water swimming for you?
Trent: I guess it's an Olympic sport now so that has a fair bit to do with it, but I also like that it's very tactical, so you don't have to be the fastest swimmer in the field to win.

10Kswimmer: When did you first realize that open water swimming was for you?
Trent: I think I realized that open water swimming was a path to seriously consider during 2008 when I really started to have a lot of success with it.

10Kswimmer: How many ocean swims do you think you have done in Australia or around the world?
Trent: Well, in Australia, there are quite a few ocean swims every year. In south east Queensland where I live, they have ocean swims probably every 5 to 6 weeks, that are anywhere from 1K to 3K long. Also, in New Zealand, they have a really good ocean swim series that I like to compete in. Other than that, I have not done a lot of racing overseas...although in 2008 I did a few races in the US including the RCP Tiburon Mile, Maui Channel Swim and the Waikiki Roughwater Swim.

10Kswimmer: What do you think about when you start an ocean race in Australia where hundreds of people head down the beach in a mad craze?
Trent: If there are hundreds of people in a race then start is crucial, I'll try and find the best place on the line to start from and just try and relax... maybe put my hands on my hips so as people do not stand to close to me.

10Kswimmer: Australian swimmers and lifesavers are notoriously competitive, aggressive and experienced. What do you think about when you are in a pack going around a turn buoy (can)?
Trent: I will try not to be in the middle of this pack, but if I am, I would be trying to find ways to get out. Its probably not the best thing to lift your head when going around a turn buoy.

10Kswimmer: When the surf is high, what do you think about when you are heading into shore during a tight race?
Trent: I hope my legs are fresher the the guys next to me. You also have to know if there's a wave building up behind you and know exactly when to stand up to start running.

10Kswimmer: What was your most difficult swim – either short ocean swim or longer marathon swim?
Trent: My most difficult ocean swim would of been about two months ago in New Zealand, It was the King of the Bays, a 2.8K swim in Auckland. The conditions were really bad. It was something like 15 to 20 knots. It was cold, wet and windy, I couldn't get in to a rhythym and the bouys were spaced a long way apart - I couldn't see anything.

10Kswimmer: What was going through your mind as you were doing this swim?
Trent: I hope I'm in front and I hope there's hot showers at the end.

10Kswimmer: When conditions get difficult in the open water, do you ever about quitting?
Trent: I guess the thought might cross your mind, but then you think, wait...everyone else in the race is hurting just as much as me and everyone else is having just as much trouble as me...I find that aways helps.

10Kswimmer: Are there any particular song or words that you repeated to yourself over and over again during the swim?
Trent: Pain is temporary, but pride is forever!

10Kswimmer: Are there any kind of mental games that you play to help you overcome the cold water or tough conditions?
Trent: Not really, I do get very nervous before a race so I am aways trying to control my breathing and trying to relax.

10Kswimmer: What are some of the most difficult workouts you have ever done – either in the pool or open water?
Trent: Well, my type of training is very aerobic based and I swim big KMs. About two years ago, I swam 120K in one week over 11 sessions.

10Kswimmer: The Europeans have recently dominated professional marathon swimming. How do you plan to change that?
Trent: This is a good question. I guess experience has a lot to do with being a good open water swimmer. Experience and hard work. I believe I am doing the right type of training - it's just getting the international race experience. Living in Australia, I guess doesn't really help with that because we are so far away from the rest of the world, so I think the next best thing to international racing is talking with people who have been there before and done that. I find talking with people like Josh Santacaterina and Brendan Cappel (both former 25km world champions) really helps. They are both full of great advice and are not afraid to share what they know. These guys have helped me out a lot with advice and how to prepare for a race and, I guess, even race tactics.

Onto Rome...

Open Water Swimming Demographics Around the World

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

We were asked about the demographics of open water swimming. It was our uneducated guess that the demographics of open water swimming is similar to the demographics of mobile phone users, but the question got the best of our curiosity.

We looked at the five races around the world: (1) the 2009 2.8 km Harbour Crossing race in Auckland organized by Scott Rice of the New Zealand Ocean Swim Series, (2) the 38th annual 2.4-mile 2008 Waikiki Roughwater Swim in Honolulu, Hawaii, (3) the 2008 RCP Tiburon Mile held in San Francisco, California and organized by Bob Placak, (4) the 1.8 km Sandycove Island Challenge in Sandycove, Kinsale, Co Cork, Ireland, and (5) the 2008 2K Vibes & Scribes Lee Swim in Lee, Ireland.

1,413 swimmers participated in the 2.8 km Harbour Crossing race. This is what we found:

The average age was 36.54 years old with a median age of 37.

35.3% of the swimmers were female and 65.7% were male.

The age groups consisted of the following percentages:

Women 0-14 years: 2.9% of the total
Women 15-19 years: 3.4%
Women 20-29 years: 6.7%
Women 30-39 years: 9.6%
Women 40-49 years: 8.1%
Women 50-59 years: 3.6%
Women 60-69 years: 0.5%
Women 70-99 years: 0.1%

Men 0-14 years: 2.5% of the total
Men 15-19 years: 3.9%
Men 20-29 years: 8.9%
Men 30-39 years: 18.0%
Men 40-49 years: 19.6%
Men 50-59 years: 8.5%
Men 60-69 years: 2.4%
Men 70-99 years: 0.5%

At the 2.4-mile 2008 Waikiki Roughwater Swim, we found similar data among the 638 swimmers:

35.5% of the swimmers were female and 65.5% were male.

The age groups consisted of the following percentages:

Women 0-14 years: 3.7% of the total
Women 15-18 years: 3.9%
Women 19-29 years: 5.6%
Women 30-39 years: 8.9%
Women 40-49 years: 6.5%
Women 50-59 years: 4.9%
Women 60-69 years: 1.5%
Women 70-99 years: 0.4%

Men 0-14 years: 3.5% of the total
Men 15-18 years: 3.2%
Men 19-29 years: 7.0%
Men 30-39 years: 13.4%
Men 40-49 years: 17.5%
Men 50-59 years: 14.3%
Men 60-69 years: 4.2%
Men 70-99 years: 1.0%

At the 2008 RCP Tiburon Mile, we found these statistics among the 742 swimmers:

The average age was 34.8 years old with a median age of 37.

41.7% of the swimmers were female and 58.3% were male.

The age groups consisted of the following percentages:



Women 0-14 years: 4.8% of the total
Women 15-19 years: 9.9%
Women 20-29 years: 4.3%
Women 30-39 years: 6.7%
Women 40-49 years: 9.3%
Women 50-59 years: 5.2%
Women 60-69 years: 1.2%
Women 70-99 years: 0.0%

Men 0-14 years: 3.2% of the total
Men 15-19 years: 6.8%
Men 20-29 years: 6.8%
Men 30-39 years: 11.8%
Men 40-49 years: 18.7%
Men 50-59 years: 7.4%
Men 60-69 years: 2.9%
Men 70-99 years: 0.4%

60.5% of the swimmers did not wear wetsuits and 39.5% of the swimmers did wear wetsuits. 63.1% of the men did not wear wetsuits and. 57.3% of the women did not wear wetsuits. 36.9% of the men wore wetsuits and 42.7% of the women wore wetsuits.

At the 2008 Sandycove Island Challenge, we found these statistics among the 259 entered swimmers:

39.3% of the swimmers were female and 60.7% were male.

49.4% of the swimmers did not wear wetsuits and 50.6% of the swimmers did wear wetsuits. 51.6% of the men did not wear wetsuits and 46.0% of the women did not wear wetsuits. 48.4% of the men wore wetsuits and 54.0% of the women wore wetsuits.

Of the swimmers who did not wear wetsuits, we found the following statistics:

Women 0-17 years: 0.3% of the total
Women 18-29 years: 2.3%
Women 30-39 years: 7.7%
Women 40-49 years: 2.7%
Women 50-59 years: 3.9%
Women 60-69 years: 1.9%
Women 70-99 years: 0.0%

Men 0-17 years: 0.7% of the total
Men 18-29 years: 6.6%
Men 30-39 years: 7.7%
Men 40-49 years: 8.4%
Men 50-59 years: 5.4%
Men 60-69 years: 1.9%
Men 70-99 years: 0.3%

Of the swimmers who did wear wetsuits, we found the following statistics:

Women 0-24 years: 1.5% of the total
Women 25-34 years: 8.4%
Women 35-44 years: 6.9%
Women 45-54 years: 4.2%

Men 0-24 years: 1.5% of the total
Men 25-34 years: 7.7%
Men 35-44 years: 13.5%
Men 45-54 years: 3.4%
Men 55-64 years: 3.0%

At the 2008 Vibes & Scribes Lee Swim, we found these statistics among the 277 entered swimmers:

28.5% of the swimmers were female and 71.5% were male.

71.8% of the swimmers did not wear wetsuits and 28.2% of the swimmers did wear wetsuits. 69.6% of the men did not wear wetsuits and 77.2% of the women did not wear wetsuits. 21.4% of the men wore wetsuits and 22.8% of the women wore wetsuits.

Of the swimmers who did not wear wetsuits, we found the following statistics:

Women 0-17 years: 1.0% of the total
Women 18-29 years: 5.5%
Women 30-39 years: 5.7%
Women 40-49 years: 4.3%
Women 50-59 years: 3.6%
Women 60-69 years: 2.1%
Women 70-99 years: 0.0%

Men 0-17 years: 2.1% of the total
Men 18-29 years: 1.8%
Men 30-39 years: 14.8%
Men 40-49 years: 12.2%
Men 50-59 years: 7.9%
Men 60-69 years: 3.6%
Men 70-99 years: 0.0%

Of the swimmers who did wear wetsuits, we found the following statistics:

Women 0-24 years: 1.0% of the total
Women 25-34 years: 2.1%
Women 35-44 years: 1.8%
Women 45-54 years: 1.4%

Men 0-24 years: 1.4% of the total
Men 25-34 years: 7.9%
Men 35-44 years: 6.5%
Men 45-54 years: 2.1%
Men 55-64 years: 3.6%

Photo of Britta Kamrau at the RCP Tiburon Mile by Elliott Karlan.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Demographics of Open Water Swimming

We were asked about the demographics of open water swimming. It was our uneducated guess that the demographics of open water swimming is similar to the demographics of mobile phone users, but the question got the best of our curiosity.



We looked at the 2.8K Harbour Crossing race in Auckland conducted by the New Zealand Ocean Swim Series organized by Scott Rice, one of the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year candidates, and this is what we found among the 1,413 participants:

The average age was 36.54 years old with a median age of 37.

35.3% of the swimmers were female and 65.7% were male.

The age groups consisted of the following percentages:

Women 0-14 years: 2.9% of the total
Women 15-19 years: 3.4%
Women 20-29 years: 6.7%
Women 30-39 years: 9.6%
Women 40-49 years: 8.1%
Women 50-59 years: 3.6%
Women 60-69 years: 0.5%
Women 70-99 years: 0.1%

Men 0-14 years: 2.5% of the total
Men 15-19 years: 3.9%
Men 20-29 years: 8.9%
Men 30-39 years: 18.0%
Men 40-49 years: 19.6%
Men 50-59 years: 8.5%
Men 60-69 years: 2.4%
Men 70-99 years: 0.5%

We compared the relatively new New Zealand Ocean Swim Series Harbour Crossing Race with the 38th annual 2.4-mile 2008 Waikiki Roughwater Swim in Honolulu and we found some not-surprisingly similar data:

35.5% of the swimmers were female and 65.5% were male.

The age groups consisted of the following percentages:

Women 0-14 years: 3.7% of the total
Women 15-18 years: 3.9%
Women 19-29 years: 5.6%
Women 30-39 years: 8.9%
Women 40-49 years: 6.5%
Women 50-59 years: 4.9%
Women 60-69 years: 1.5%
Women 70-99 years: 0.4%

Men 0-14 years: 3.5% of the total
Men 15-18 years: 3.2%
Men 19-29 years: 7.0%
Men 30-39 years: 13.4%
Men 40-49 years: 17.5%
Men 50-59 years: 14.3%
Men 60-69 years: 4.2%
Men 70-99 years: 1.0%

So, if we had to guess using these limited statistics from these two races (one relatively new race in Auckland, New Zealand and one with nearly four decades of history in Honolulu, Hawaii), the average open water swimmer is a 40-year-old, but the sport really spans all age groups.Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Doing The Ilchenko in Mt Maunganui

Olympic 10K Marathon Swim gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko is well-known for winning races in dramatic fashion at the very end. We call her classic open water move, The Ilchenko.

Australian David Browne (see photo on left) pulled The Ilchenko on Kane Radford at the 2.8K Sand to Surf, Mt Maunganui Swim, the fourth of five races on the Sovereign New Zealand Ocean Swim Series.


With nearly perfect conditions and out in front of the other 697 swimmers, David and Kane battled it out mano-a-mano throughout the entire race before David did The Ilchenko less than 200 meters from the beach finish to defeat Kane. "David just swam a brilliant race, he was never far from my hip or my toes and just had a little bit more at the end to out run me up the beach. It was a great race though, tight all the way and a case of waiting, waiting, waiting to see who would move first. Coming down the stretch I went a little left, David a little right and he just nudged me to the beach," said the gracious Kane.

David explained his strategy, "I knew I had to wear him down, he is such a strong swimmer and swam so well in Aussie at our nationals a month back. It was toe to toe, stroke for stroke, we both started fast to drop some of the pool swimmers and then I just found something to bring it home. Over the final few hundred meters, we both hammered it, this was a great race to win."

The women's race was also tactical with Charlotte Webby beating established star Kate Brookes-Peterson and finishing eighth overall. "I sat with [Kate] early, but when she put her foot down, she opened up a gap of about 100 meters and there was little I could do. But around the back i made some great ground through good navigation and sensed my chance. I went straight and that proved the difference, I'm delighted."

Hooking 'Em Young in New Zealand

The Sovereign New Zealand Ocean Swim Series gets them hooked young with their Sovereign OceanKids swims. OceanKids not only receive a swim cap and sponsor’s goodie bag, but more importantly, they are also introduced to the sport of open water swimming in a fun, friendly, safe environment.




Open to children between the ages of 8-11, the OceanKids races are 200 meter events. The next OceanKids race is part of the Corsair Classic Christchurch race on the 5-part New Zealand Ocean Swim Series circuit (0.75K or 2.8K ocean swims).


The Corsair Classic Christchurch is encouraging its participants - both young and old - with a quote from Olympic medalist and coach Ken Doherty, "The five S's of sports training are stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spiritbut the greatest of these is spirit."

Three-peat for Radford in the Harbour

Scott Rice, one of the nominees for the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year (see below), is one of the few people who can halt all marine traffic in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city.

But, it was 18-year-old Kane Radford who was the talk of the town after his surprisingly powerful win over Trent Grimsey who won the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the RCP Tiburon Mile and the Eyeline 1000 Noosa Ocean Swim earlier this year.

In only its fifth year, Rice has built up the Sovereign Harbour Crossing, to be the biggest ocean swim in New Zealand, attracting 1,440 entrants to the 2.8K race from Bayswater to downtown Auckland. The Sovereign Harbour Crossing is the first of five races in the popular Sovereign New Zealand Ocean Swim Series. In a country of only 4.1 million people, this is equivalent of having 103,000 swimmers in a single open water swim in the U.S.

Radford was not given an opportunity to qualify for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, but he apparently has plans to rectify that situation for London in 2012. Radford will soon start training with Olympian open water swimmer Chloe Sutton and the famed distance training group at the Mission Viejo Nadadores under Bill Rose, the head open water swimming coach for the US. "This is an amazing chance for me. To train with Bill Rose and his squad who focus on long-distance training is incredible."

Radford swam across the Waitemata Harbour (Auckland) in 33:00, easily out-swimming Australian Grimsey (34:12) and young Aucklander Brett Newall (34:14). Double world championship bronze medalist Kate Brookes-Peterson, a native of New Zealand who is now an Australian citizen, came back home to win in 34:25 far ahead of Penelope Marshall in 36:51 and Charlotte Webby in 37:21.

Rice says the five-year milestone is a special one for the event. "In the five years of the Sovereign Harbour Crossing, we have built up real tradition and history in what is now an iconic event on the Auckland sporting and recreation calendar. Anyone can drive across the harbour bridge, take a ferry from wharf to wharf and some of us are lucky enough to have sailed in pleasure craft on the harbour. But it is a rare opportunity to be able to swim across the harbour with the support of Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, the Coastguard and the port authorities. That is part of what makes this event so special, the rare nature of it and the sheer challenge of it. For many people this is the biggest and most demanding event they will take on in their lives. Consequently the sense of achievement upon making the finish line is huge. The smiles on the faces of all who make it bring as much joy to us as organizers as it does to them as individuals."

One of the finishers was 74-year-old Dick Smith who completed his first open water swim in 1951 and finished this race in 1:00:36.

Upper photo of Radford at finish line. Middle photo of Kane after race. Lower photo of Kate Brookes-Peterson at the 2007 World Swimming Championships.

Reminder: the World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year and the World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year voting continues. Click here for more details of the male nominees and here for the female nominees.