This year the annual Noosa Summer Swim Festival is the finale to Swimming Australia’s popular ‘Australia Swims’ campaign. The finish line – Tokyo!
Now in its third year, the initiative encourages all Australians to celebrate their love of the water and commit the distance they plan to swim in January – whether it’s 50 metres or 50 kilometres – to a nation-wide challenge.
Swimming Australia has teamed up with a number of marquee open water events around the country during the Australia Swims campaign, including the Pier to Pub in Lorne, the Portsea Swim Classic, the Great Australia Day Swim and for the first time, the Noosa Summer Swim will be the grand finale.
As the excitement builds towards the Olympics and Paralympics, this year’s challenge has a touch of Tokyo and will ignite traditional state rivalries, with states and territories competing in a virtual race to Japan’s capital – the destination of the 2020 Games.
Last year saw thousands of people commit their distance, accumulating a grand total of 40,358.43kms to successfully achieve the challenge of lapping Australia and surpassing 2018’s total of 39,113kms.
The 2019 Noosa Summer Swim winner, Kareena Lee, was the first swimmer selected on the Australian 2020 Olympic team and is a big advocate of the campaign.
Swimming Australia CEO Leigh Russell is encouraging all Australians to get behind the campaign this summer to make it the most inclusive and expansive Australia Swims initiative to date.
“I’m really excited to launch this year’s Australia Swims campaign which takes on an Olympic and Paralympic element in 2020 as states and territories race to Tokyo,” Russell said.
“This initiative is all about inspiring people of all ages and abilities to get in the water, so it doesn’t matter if you pledge 50 metres or 25 kilometres, every distance adds to your state’s grand total and edges your region closer to the goal of 7,154km.
To officially commit your distance, visit the Australia Swims website or download Swimming Australia’s free iSwim app.
The two-day Noosa Summer Swim Festival kicks off this Saturday 1 February with junior events plus short and long courses (1km, 2km, 3km) – these events attract thousands of swimmers of all ages.
On Saturday evening, a new Outdoor Cinema event suported by Noosa Civic Shopping Centre will be held at Noosa Woods starting at 6.30pm with cartoons for the kids then the family movie ‘The Greatest Showman’
On Sunday, seasoned swimmers get to push their limits in the 5km Noosa Grand Prix, or for a more leisurely distance – try the 1500m Social Swim.
More information on the Noosa Summer Swim – entries close tomorrow, Friday 31 January – and to enter, visit: www.worldseriesswims.com.au
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About Kareena Lee…
A shining light in open water events, Kareena Lee is forging an impressive international career. After claiming silver medals in the Women’s 10km Open events at the past two Australian Open Water Championships, Lee beat her friend and fierce competitor Chelsea Gubecka to take home the top honour in 2019. Carrying the momentum into her next event, the long-distance swimmer won the Midmar Mile – once known as the world’s largest open water event – in South Africa a few weeks later. A silver Pan Pacs medallist, Lee is based in Noosa and trains alongside fellow open water swimmer Nick Sloman. Kareena was the first Australian Dolphin to earn selection for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after placing 7th in the Women’s 10km event at the 2019 World Championships.
Sport: Swimming
Event: Marathon Swimming
Olympic History: Debut
Coach: John “JR“ Rodgers
Club: Noosa Swimming Club
Year Born: 1993 (25)
State Born: QLD
(SUBHEAD)
Swimming Australia profile…
“When someone says you can’t do it, do it twice and take a picture,” – that is the motto of Sunshine Coast open water swimmer, Kareena Lee, but her journey towards an Olympic debut has been one of resilience.
Four years ago, Lee, a Rio 2016 hopeful, was pulled from the 2015 World Aquatic Championships after collapsing and being hospitalised following the Women’s 10km Open Water Race.
The then 22-year-old was treated for a combination of asthma, dehydration, hypothermia and a facial injury.
A top ten finish in the final 25km event would have guaranteed Lee Olympic qualification, but she was pulled from the race on medical grounds and heartbreakingly missed out on her chance at Rio 2016.
Although devastated, Lee’s determination and grit served her well and while it’s not uncommon to hear of the many accolades Australia has collected over shorter distance swimming, it has been ten years since an Australian woman has led the competition in open water swimming. That is, until recently.
n 2018, Lee competed in both the pool and open water at the 2018 edition of the Pan Pacifics at Hojo Beach Tateyama, Japan.
Lee finished fourth in the women’s 1500m freestyle ahead of claiming silver in the 10km open water event, a significant achievement as it was her first major international open water medal, apart from her world cup bronze.
In 2019, the primary school qualified teacher really started to make her mark. She won the Midmar Mile, once known as the world’s largest open water event, she also claimed silver at the Women’s 10km Open events at the Australian Open Water Championships and the Pan Pacifics.
But it was her seventh placing at Women’s 10km event at the 2019 World Championships in July at Yeosu EXPO Ocean Park in South Korea that earned her the Australian Dolphin Swim Team’s first Tokyo 2020 qualification spot and had her exclaiming, “FINALLY!”
“It’s an amazing feeling to be nominated, it’s been a long time coming with lots of ups and downs in my career and … Finally!”
It was a tight tussle for the world crown with just 3.3 seconds separating the winner and seventh-placed Lee, in the race which took nearly two hours.
It had been a dramatic week for Lee, as the day before her race, it was announced her legendary Australian swim coach John “JR“ Rodgers, who has guided the likes of Olympians such as Michelle Ford, Max Metzker, Ron McKeon, Graeme Brewer, Bronte Barrett and Kylie Palmer was on track for a full recovery after undergoing major open-heart surgery on a 10cm tear in his aorta.
The 81-year-old had been unable to travel to the world championships after becoming ill while swimming in a pool. Lee dealt with the emotional toll of worrying for and being without her trusted advisor by her side, but in the end, she was able to achieve their goal.
After the race, an emotional Lee spoke to Rodgers by telephone.
“I just wanted to do it for him,” she said about her achievement.
“Ringing him today after the race and hearing how proud he was, just makes it special.”
One month after her world championships success, Lee competed in the ‘Ready Steady Tokyo’ event, a test event for the 2020 Olympic venue, Japan’s Odaiba Marine Park.
With the water temperature averaging 30 degrees, the Marathon Swim race distance was reduced to 5km, rather than the planned 10km. Competing against a dozen other nations, Lee won the event and certainly gained valuable experience at the venue where she will make her Olympic debut.
The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics will be from Friday 24 July to Sunday 9 August…
