Swimmers from all over make a splash

The Funky Pants open-water swim has once again proved that its popularity is growing rapidly by the day. Organiser Allison Williams confesses that it has become more popular than she anticipated. “It’s wonderful to see that between 2014 and this year the overall entrants per event grew by over 100 per cent. This is awesome.” Swimmers form as far as Johannesburg, Ermelo, Middelburg, Komatipoort and Swaziland enjoy the swim at Longmere Dam. Even though the 400-metre event used to be the most popular, the 1,5-kilometre stretch has become the greatest of the day. “Even though we were concerned about the dam’s level, we are thankful that it never became a major issue.”

Williams wishes to thank Capt Pottie Potgieter and his diving unit for the support they provided throughout the whole season. She extends her appreciation to Bruce Templeton and Steve Honey of Longmere Recreation Club for their support of the event and on water support, Mark Williams for course layout and all the swimming clubs in the Mbombela area which came out to support.

The overall winners all won cash prizes

Three kilometres

• Nicole Lewis and Jacey Bekker.

1,5 kilometres

Men

• 13 and under: Luke Sproule

• 14-30: Frans-Josef Mentz

• 31 and older: Hendrik Tryhou.

Ladies

• 13 and under: Kayla Schefermann

• 14-30: Thelise Saunders

• 31 and older: Michele Esterhuizen.

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