Two teenagers who took out the titles at this year's Cole Classic ocean swim in Manly are ready to defend them in 2015.
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Callum Lowe-Griffiths, 15, won the men's two kilomdkm race, while 15-year-old Cormac Guthrie won the men's 9km Dee Why to Manly swim.
Callum, who just finished year 10 at Newington College, completed the 2km race in 20 minutes and 55 seconds. He said he was a bit surprised that he won. "I wasn't quite sure how I'd go because there were some pretty big men competing," he said. "But my surf swimming and all the distance training I do helped me."
Callum trains at the Willoughby Swim Club seven to eight times a week and does surf training three to four times a week at the Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club with coach Chris Allum, a former Ironman champion.
"Training is very time consuming, but I love it," said Callum. "It's a really encouraging environment."
Cormac Guthrie attends Marcellin College in Randwick and also just completed year 10. He has been the youngest swimmer to enter the 9km challenge both times it has been run – and the fastest. He completed the race in one hour, 33 minutes and 41 seconds, shaving almost 18 minutes off the previous record.
"I trained for a long time," said Cormac. "I spend about 12 hours in the pool every week, and I usually go for a beach session on Saturday mornings with my coach, Chad Schneider."
Cormac has only been ocean swimming for a few years. "I started training seriously at about age 12. I love getting in the water, and it's a bit of an outlet if I've had an exam or a rough week at school," he said.
Callum and Cormac are competing in the NSW State Open Water Swimming Championships in Penrith this weekend, and they've started training for other swimming events this season. They're both feeling confident about defending their titles in the upcoming Cole Classic.
"It's a serious event but it's fun," said Callum. "You can hear the crowd cheering you on and you can see people standing there at the end of the finish line."
Around 3600 competitors took part in this year's Cole Classic events. Organisers expect similar numbers for the 32nd Cole Classic which will be heldat Manly on February 1, 2015.
