WINDSOR Swim Club’s Aaron Donaldson and Kane McNamara both discovered they were pretty decent long distance swimmers by accident.
The pair entered long distanced open water swimming events to help with their swimming training, and it turned out they were only a handful of seconds off national qualifying time.
With a berth at a national competition within arm’s reach, Aaron, 15, and Kane 13, decided to start training for open water events.
The friends have both qualified for the Australian Open Water Championships, which will be hosted at Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast over February 12 and 13.
They will swim the five kilometre event, and both said they had been looking forward to it after achieving their qualifying times.
“I was so happy when I posted the time,” Kane, from Bligh Park, said.
“It is the first time I've qualified for nationals and I was over the moon about it.”
Kane said he was feeling good about his prospects this weekend.
“I hope I do well, I feel like I'll go faster than my best time,” he said.
“I feel stronger in the water lately. Last week I did a training set I would normally struggle with but I did it comfortably.
“My coach and training sessions have really helped me lately. I train in the pool but you have to do a lot of swimming in the pool to prepare for it.”
Aaron, like his mate Kane, entered an open water event just to help him train.
“Last year I went into the five kilomerte event for a practice swim and my coach said I was only a couple of seconds off nationals,” he said.
“I went in again and qualified for nationals. It was a bit of a fluke that I found out I was good at it.”
It is Aaron’s second time at the nationals, after the Nelson resident went last year too.
Open water swimming is quite different to swimming in the pool, because competitors have to deal with currents and the elements.
Aaron said he enjoyed open water swimming more than pool swimming, and liked learning how to take advantage of open water conditions.
“I find it more interesting out in the ocean, sometimes you get a little bit bored swimming in the pool,” he said.
“When you get more into the sport, you learn about using the currents to your advantage. It is different to just swimming in the pool.”
The pair both said they were looking forward to the trip to Queensland and both said it would be good to hang out at the event together.
