With grey clouds casting a gloomy backdrop over Dorney Lake on this Bank Holiday Monday, you would expect optimism to be low, however the morning’s weather did not dampen spirits as people turned out in their masses to take part and spectate in what was to be a fantastic event and a great day out at Dorney Lake.

The 2015 Eton Swims kicked off with the toughest and most challenging distance of the day, the 10km Swim. With the weather starting to pick up, the atmosphere on the starting line was one of optimism, with all 220 Swimmers buzzing with excitement at the prospect of conquering this almighty challenge. The pulsating atmosphere at the start line paid dividend as we were treated to an electric start to the Eton Swims. One that would be replicated across all distances throughout the day.

Not only were we treated to an exciting start to the event but we were privileged to witness a great spectacle from Alex Van Vliet who decided to swim the whole 10km butterfly for charity. Not only did he complete the swim but he did so in a fantastic time of 3:47:31. A big well done to Alex is in order for an unbelievable achievement and for such a great cause as well! Our first finisher of the day was Craig Bransby of Enfield Water Polo Club, who finished first in the 750m Swim with a great time of 10:03. He was shortly followed by Bruce McCormick (10:10) in second and Matt Storr (10:49) wasn’t far behind finishing in third. A worthy mention has to go to Lily Collins-Board, one of the younger competitors in the race, who came 4th overall and 1st in the female category, with a very impressive time of 10:54. Bethany Barber took second in the female category with a time of 11:02 and was shortly followed by Amy Pepper of the Linslade Crusaders Swimming Club in third with an equally impressive time of 11:16.

The 1500m distance saw Hillingdon Triathletes Club take 1st and 2nd, with Hannah Kitchen (20:06) edging her compatriot Jordan Sexton (20:22) by 16 seconds! In the men’s category Jerome Greig took second with a time of 20:46 equal to Helen O’Neile of Ealing Swimming Club, who also took 2nd place in the female category. Matt Mcquillan of the Las Vegas Institute of Sport (worthy of a mention for the distance he’s travelled for the event!) came 5th overall with a time of 21:02 and took 3rd place in the men’s category. In the female category, it was Darika Ahrens who finished in 3rd place with an impressive time of 23:04.

The 3km Swim treated us to a pulsating finish with all of the top 6 arriving within 7 seconds of each other, eventually being won by Ian Wimpenny with a time of 38.29mins, averaging a fantastic speed of 4.68km/h, the fastest of the day by any competitor! Shortly following Ian Wimpenny in joint second wasMatthew Steere (Orpington Ojay Swimming Club), Fraser Barclay (Epping Forest District Swimming Club) and Adam Warner all finishing with a time of 38:32. Only two seconds behind them in 5th place was the fastest swimmer in the female category, Jessica Wooddisse (38:34) of Stroud Masters. Following her in second place was Robyn Le Friec of the Beau Sejour Barracudas, who was only 4 seconds behind Jessica with a time of 38:38. Taking third place in the female category was Hannah Monaghan of West London Penguin, who finished on 10th overall with an impressive time of 40:26.

There was another exciting head to head finish in the 5km swim, which saw Sam Crabtree of Thanet Swim Club fight it out with Dave Warren of Otter Swimming Club for first place. In the end it was Sam Crabtree (1:04:34) who came out on top beating Dave Warren (1:04:38) by a mere 4 seconds! Not far behind Dave Warren in third was Daniel Bradshaw who clocked an impressive time of 1:06:48. In the female category, Becky Power of the Clapham Chasers took first place with a time of 1:16:39, and she was shortly followed by Sarah Moore of the Mid Sussex Triathlon Club who took second place with a time of 1:16:41, only two seconds behind Becky Power in first. Third place in the female category went to Naomi Gayler, once again of the Clapham Chasers, with an impressive time of 1:17:34. The 10km swim was to be a different story altogether with one clear winner in the form of Junior Swimmer,Jack Sampson, who completed the gruelling swim in just over 2 hours, with an emphatic time of 2:09:59. Second and third place was a tight knit affair withDavid Denny trumping Dominic Williams (2:22:25) to second place with a time of 2:22:15. In the female category, Lisa Jones of the Gloucester Masters Swim Club took control winning her category with an impressive 2:24:57, not too far behind in second was Rachael Lee who finished with a time of 2:31:30. A minute behind Rachael in third was Georgia Amison a junior swimmer from the Leicester Penguins Swimming Club who finished with an equally impressive time of 2:32:35. A huge amount of respect is due to all those who took part in the 10km swim (especially all those who did it without a wetsuit!), as it was no easy feat and you all made it look easy!

The event village was full of activity throughout the day, not only were blueseventy there to provide participants with great quality wetsuits, we also hadERDINGER Alkoholfrei in attendance giving out their natural isotonic sports recovery drinks, which went down a treat with the tired Swimmers! I am sure the swimmers were also grateful for the services of both Spatone and Zipvit Sport who kindly offered out free samples of some of their great products! Spatone provided some great iron supplements whereas Zipvit Sport provided all finishers with a protein recovery bar, to help boost the energy levels of the tired swimmers! As well as this feedstations 1 and 2 were fully stocked up with Zipvit Sport energy gels and drinks providing all the 5 and 10km swimmers with a crucial energy boost. Next up at Dorney Lake we have the Wiggle SteelMan on Saturday the 4th of July, which has a great combination of Triathlon events (Olympic & Challenge distances) mixed with more water based events such as Aquathlons (Swim & Run) and AquaBikes (Swim & Bike). You still have time to sign up for the Wiggle SteelMan, with the closing date falling on the 29th of June. Get your entries in soon so you don’t miss out on another cracking event at Dorney Lake. Hope to see you there!