People might have seen two very dedicated – or crazy – Ocean Beach surf lifesavers swimming all over Broken Bay in the winter months and wondered why.
Richard Grimmond and Mark Davis challenged themselves to complete the Montenegro UltraSwim 33.3, a marathon swimming event that ran between October 4 and 7 in the Balkan country.
They began their preparation in March starting with a couple of kilometres several times a week to larger distances in the pool and longer ocean swims on the weekend.
Grimmond said the UltraSwim 33.3 brought people of diverse backgrounds together to swim in open water locations around the world.
“The swimming is still tough – you may cover more than 10km in a day,” he said.
“We loved the idea of taking a marathon swim where we could cover the distance over several days, six or seven swims, in warmer water.
“Add to this, you would swim with other people rather than undertaking the challenge alone, all while staying in a luxury hotel and having someone else take care of all the event logistics.
“‘Afterwards you can relax, have a sports massage, and loosen your muscles in a spa pool.”
The swim offered the Aussie swimmers the opportunity to talk with ambassadors Michelle Ford, 1980 Australian Olympic Gold medallist, Ivan Puskovitch, 2024 Olympian US team, open water swimming and Andy Donaldson, three-time world record holder, open water swimming.
“The formal sessions and informal discussions around the hotel or boat transfers were priceless with these legends,’” Grimmond said.
Champagne awaited everyone at the end of four days of swimming in testing conditions.
Despite the weather and scheduled plan changes, the 33.3kms was achieved for 150 of the 193 starters.