Noosa brothers Kilian and Nolan Carrel drove each other on to the finish line to claim first and second spots in the major event, the 5km ocean swim, of the Noosa Summer Swim Festival on Sunday.
Close behind them and first woman across the line was Ella Reynolds.
All six place getters in the major event were elite swimmers who finished the 5km swim in under an hour.
Speaking after the race the Carrel brothers and Ella told how the race wins were another step toward their dreams to compete in ocean swimming at the Olympics, the brothers aiming to swim for their country of birth, Switzerland, and Ella for Australia.
All three are members of the team training under renowned coach John Rodgers (JR) at the Noosa Aquatic Centre (NAC).
“I love racing with my brother. He pushes me every single day,“ Kilian said.
“We’re working toward going to Europe in two months, me and my brother. We’re trying to qualify for the Swiss national team.
“We’ve been here 11 years. Now we want to get on to the Swiss national team then to the Olympics in LA.“
The swimmers praised their coach JR for their success despite tough training sessions that included 10 x 5km sessions a week.
“Nothing worth doing comes easy but with a coach like JR (John Rogers) nothing is impossible really,“ Nolan said.
“He (JR) is getting older but nothing stops him from going on pool deck every day. He’s so dedicated. He loves it.“
“JR he’s one of the reasons Australian swimming is so good,“ the emcee replied.
After crossing the line Ella Reynolds said the swim in Sunday’s choppy conditions was “pretty tough“ but she loved it and the experience gained assisted in her goal to swim in the LA Olympics.
“It’s so good to have all this and the experience helps you get to those next levels. Without these we wouldn’t be able to do stuff like this,“ she said.
The Summer Swim attracted more than 2000 swimmers to Main Beach on Sunday who took part in a range of swims including the 300m Junior Giants event, 1km, 2km, 3km and 5km events.
People of all ages participated and were cheered on by family and friends.
Among them were Sunshine Coast firefighter Peter Hadley and his wife Samara who took their two daughters Sage and Imogen for their first 300m Junior Giants ocean swim event.
“It was a surprise for the kids – their first ocean swim. They do nippers, so it was just mixing it up,“ Samara said.
“It was fun. It was great. It was very family friendly. It was awesome,“ they said.
Also in the Junior Giants event were Hannah and her niece Ebony, 10, who travelled from northern NSW.
Hannah said her brother was first in their family to take part in the Noosa Summer Swim, completing the 5km event and that drew her to take on the 3km event.
This year was Ebony’s first ocean swim event.
“It’s was fun family thing,“ Hannah said.
The Noosa Summer Swim Festival is a bucket list event for keen ocean swimmers with a festival atmosphere that comprises open water clinics on Saturday prior to the swim events on Sunday.
