A record field of 244 women entered this year’s Simon’s Bay Mile Women’s Day swim presented by Swim Cape Town on Saturday 8 August.

Many participants completed their very first ocean mile (1,6 km), with South African Olympian and event ambassador Laura Strugnell sharing how proud she was of how the women’s-only participants have embraced the swim as their own and helped grow it into one of the largest participation ocean swims in South Africa, according to Fish Hoek Surf Lifesaving Club‘s Scott Tait.

Record turnout

The swim was brought forward to the reserve day for safety reasons due to an incoming cold front.

“Swimmers were greeted with near-perfect weather,” he said, “although water temperatures sat at a chilly 13,5 °C and sent off in waves according to their predicted mile times as they took in the sights and sounds of picturesque Simon’s Bay.”

This year faster swimmers with times between 19 and 25 minutes enjoyed the benefit of their own elite race, with prize money from Swim Cape Town awarded to the top five.

The elite wave of 25 swimmers featured three-time event champion Carina Bruwer, double Olympian Michelle Weber and South African lifesaving captain Nicola Harcus from Fish Hoek Surf Lifesaving Club along with several rising junior stars.

“The elite race began at a frenetic pace and never slowed,” he pointed out. “Weber and Harcus broke away from the chasing pack and were shoulder to shoulder coming around the Simon’s Town Jetty and into the Waterfront.”

Giving back

Harcus put her lifesaving skills to great effect with a couple of dolphin dives that pushed her ahead of Weber before sprinting up the beach to claim this year’s title.

Seventeen-year-old Mikalla Laubscher finished third, with Tarryn Stanford fourth and 14-year-old Sarah Mocke clinching an excellent fifth place.

The top three Open Women winners are Michelle Weber, Nicola Harcus and Tarryn Stanford.

The winning skins-category swimmer was Maya Laubscher, with Bruwer second and Sarah Ferguson third.

The swim also organised a donation drive of hygiene products for women in need, supported by the swimmers and donated to the Happy Valley Home in Simon’s Town, Tait added.

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