Ocean swimming hotting up

THE ocean swimming season will heat up on Saturday 31 January at Noosa Heads with the start of Queensland’s largest swim series.
Returning for the second annual Noosa Summer Swim is Olympic legend and Queensland Series Ambassador Michael Klim.
The former world champion and gold medallist is excited about the rising trend of ocean swimming in Queensland and expects to see plenty of new visitors from interstate in 2015.
“This series now has a lot of interest from Sydney and Melbourne swimmers – some elite and some just looking for a Queensland beach holiday,” he said.
Among them is Bondi Rescue’s Andrew ‘Reidy’ Reid and Dean ‘Deano’ Gladstone, both regular ocean swimmers keen to stamp their mark on the Queensland surf scene.
Professional athlete and Noosa local Melissa Hauschildt has confirmed her place in the series opener which serves as a hit-out before her 2015 race campaign gets underway in Dubai in February.
Some of Australia’s leading open water specialists are also expected to contest this year’s series of events. The growing list includes Rio de Janeiro Olympic 10km marathon hopefuls Sam Sheppard and George O’Brien, multiple Kings of the Coast champion Chelsea Gubecka, Mountain Creek swimmer Kareena Lee and age group sensation Sarah Thompson.
The Noosa Summer Swim also features a Teams Charity Relay where teams of three will compete against celebrities and multisport athletes from around Australia. All proceeds from relay entries will go to the winning team’s charity of choice.