TALENTED Warrnambool swimmer Isaac Jones is celebrating a second-successive Shipwreck Coast Swim Series triumph.
The former University of Kentucky athlete sealed the triumph with a victory at the Port Campbell leg on Saturday.
Jones won two of the four legs - Portland and Port Campbell - and finished second to Thomas Hay at Port Fairy and runner-up to Torquay's Jorden Merrilees at Warrnambool.
He finished the Port Campbell course in just 13 minutes and 46 seconds, one minute and 11 seconds in front of second-placed and female winner Sophie Thomas.
Jones won two of the four legs - Portland and Port Campbell - and finished second to Thomas Hay at Port Fairy and runner-up to Torquay's Jorden Merrilees at Warrnambool.
"To get the series you've got to do all the swims. I worked out (if I swam Port Campbell) I was probably going to get that one so I was just keen to get around the course as fast as I could," Jones said.
"The Port Campbell one is different, because of the way the bay is - it's really narrow. As you get further out to sea, a lot of the waves bounce off the cliffs and they other swims, because they're a more open beach, the swells are always behind you or always on your side. At Port Campbell, you'll have the swell coming from the sea but also coming back off the cliffs. It's almost getting you from two different directions."
Jones said he'd relished the chance to enjoy ocean swimming after a dedicated pool career which included a push for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
"I love how ocean swimming brings everyone together, whereas the pool is a bit more individualised," he said.
Warrnambool's Susan Atherton was the overall female winner, while clubmates Macey Kane (12-17 female) and Sandra Skilbeck (50-59 veteran) also saluted as series champions. Tully Watt was the 18-34 female champion, Port Fairy's Melinda Kemp won the 60+ super veteran women's division while Reuben Lovell (12-17 junior male), Greg Costa (35-49 male), David Johnstone (50-59 male) and Denys Dodd (60+ super veteran male) also celebrated series victories.
The series, which formerly included Port Fairy, Warrnambool and Port Campbell, expanded to welcome a Portland leg in 2022.
It will return in 2023 as one of the major sporting events on the south-west's summer calendar.
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Nick Ansell
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
