Courtesy of Christopher Guesdon, Tasmania, Australia.

Christopher Guesdon has compiled old archives and documents covering the history of marathon swimming in Australia. “Swimming Australia had not kept the records, but we are trying to piece together old records before all our memories are gone. Unfortunately, the materials that I gave Swimming Australia that ranged between 1973 and 1981 have been lost and the records between 1982 and 1992 have been misplaced. They are only interested in the pool results.

When the Australian Long Distance Championships were held between 1973 and 1981, the name Open Water had not been thought of then. These championships were conducted over a series of events with points allocated for the place in a swim similar to the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation system that decided its world champion by points. Why would we do any different?

I was Australian long Distance Swimming champion in 1977 and 1981. The other seven years were shared by Des Renford, Dick Campion, and John Koorey.”

The Australian national champions over the years over various distances are listed below:

Australian Marathon Swimming Championships

• Men’s 24 km 1984 Craig Riddington
• Men’s 24 km 1985 Craig Riddington
• Men’s 16 km 1986 Max Metzker in 3 hours 17 minutes 2 seconds
• Men’s 16 km 1987 Max Metzker in 3 hours 18 minutes 14 seconds
• Men’s 16 km 1988 Darren Turner in 3 hours 22 minutes
• Men’s 16 km 1989 Dean Mercer in 3 hours 17 minutes 40 seconds in Manly Dam, Sydney
• Women’s 13 km 1986 Perrie-Lee Gammie in 2 hours 51 minutes 20 seconds
• Women’s 13 km 1987 Perrie-Lee Gammie in 3 hours 11 minutes 1 second
• Women’s 13 km 1988 Hjordis Markstefner in 3 hours 1 minute
• Women’s 16 km 1986 Perrie-Lee Gammie in New South Wales
• Women’s 16 km 1989 Shelley Taylor-Smith in 3 hours 17 minutes 42 seconds

Australian Long-Distance Swimming Championships

• Men’s 16 km 1986 Max Metzker
• Men’s 16 km 1987 Max Metzker in 3 hours 13 minutes 30 seconds
• Women’s 13 km 1987 Tammy van Wisse in 2 hours 50 minutes 21 seconds

Australian Open Water Swimming Championships

• Men’s 5 km 1997 Ky Hurst in 58 minutes 23 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 1998 Mark Saliba in 59 minutes 53 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 1999 Ky Hurst in 54 minutes 3 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2000 Mark Saliba in 57 minutes 50 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2001 Herbert Ray in 57 minutes 2 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2002 Grant Cleland in 59 minutes 23 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2003 Grant Cleland in 54 minutes 9 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2004 Josh Santacaterina in 57 minutes 11 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2005 Ky Hurst in 57 minutes 42.22 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2006 Ky Hurst in 55 minutes 42 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2007 Ky Hurst in 1 hour 46.00 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2008 Travis Nederpelt in 54 minutes 49.78 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2009 Trent Grimsey in 55 minutes 43.00 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2010 Trent Grimsey in 56 minutes 23 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2011 Codie Grimsey in 56 minutes 32 seconds
• Mens’ 5 km 2012 Jarrod Poort in 57 minutes 21.85 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2013 Jarrod Poort in 56 minutes 48.96 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2014 Jarrod Poort in 59 minutes 14.39 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2015 George O’Brien in 55 minutes 35.00 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2016 Rhys Mainstone in 56 minutes 4.39 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2017 Jack McLoughlin in 55 minutes 12.60 seconds
• Men’s 5 km 2018 Not held
• Men’s 5 km 2019 Not held
• Men’s 5 km 2020 Matthew Robinson in 56 minutes 19.98 seconds
• Men’s 5 km time trial 2018 Hayden Cotter in 52 minutes 56:01 seconds
• Men’s 5 km time trial 2019 Hayden Cotter in 54 minutes 43.60 seconds
• Men’s 5 km time trial 2020 Nick Sloman in 54 minutes 39.86 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2001 Leigh Bool  in 2 hours 13 minutes 57 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2002 Mark Saliba in 2 hours 1 minutes 28 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2003 Mark Saliba in 1 hour 51 minutes 20 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2004 Grant Cleland in 1 hour 57 minutes 16 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2005 Josh Santacaterina 1 hour 57 minutes 25 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2006 Brendan Capell in 1 hour 58 minutes 35.41 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2007 Ky Hurst in 1 hour 59 minutes 1.00 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2008 Grant Hackett in 1 hour 54 minutes 39.95 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2009 Trent Grimsey in 1 hour 54 minutes 46.00 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2010 Rhys Mainstone in 1 hour 53 minutes 53 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2011 Ky Hurst in 1 hour 55 minutes 4 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2012 Rhys Mainstone in 1 hour 54 minutes 26.27 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2013 Rhys Mainstone in 1 hour 54 minutes 39.76 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2014 Jarrod Poort in 1 hour 54 minutes 16 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2015 Jarrod Poort in 1 hour 52 minutes 39 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2016 Jarrod Poort in 1 hour 59 minutes 35.53 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2017 Jarrod Poort in 1 hour 57 minutes 48.30 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2018 Nick Sloman in 1 hour 53 minutes 04.07 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2019 Nick Sloman in 1 hour 53 minutes 7.09 seconds
• Men’s 10 km 2020 Nick Sloman in 1 hour 55 minutes 49.63 seconds
• Men’s 20 km 1992 David O’Brien in 3 hours 53 minutes 32 seconds
• Men’s 20 km 1994 David O’Brien in 3 hours 59 minutes 36.91 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 1990 David O’Brien
• Men’s 25 km 1991 David O’Brien                
• Men’s 25 km 1992 Not held
• Men’s 25 km 1993 Peter Galvin in 5 hours 51 minutes 3 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 1994 Not held
• Men’s 25 km 1995 David Bates       
• Men’s 25 km 1996 Grant Robinson
• Men’s 25 km 1997 Grant Robinson in 5 hours 16 minutes 39.00 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 1998 Grant Robinson in 5 hours 22 minutes 3.00 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 1999 Mark Saliba in 5 hours 14 minutes 59:00 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 2000 Mark Saliba in 5 hours 12 minutes 20.00 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 2001 Mark Saliba in 5 hours 54 minutes 55 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 2002 Mark Saliba in 5 hours 30 minutes 59 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 2003 Mark Saliba in 4 hours 58 minutes 6.00 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 2004 Mark Saliba in 5 hours 17 minutes 40 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 2005 Brendan Capell in 5 hours 13 minutes 16 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 2006 Ky Hurst 
• Men’s 25 km 2007 Brendan Capell in 5 hours 44 minutes 32.00 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 2008 Brendan Capell in 5 hours 2 minutes 32.25 seconds
• Men’s 25 km 2009 Brendan Capell in 5 hours 6 minutes 29.00 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 1997 Kristy Park in 1 hour 3 minutes 18.00 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 1998 Bronwen Whitehead in 1 hour 1 minute 48.00 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 1999 Sarah Bowd in 58 minutes 47:00 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2000 Hayley Lewis in 58 minutes 19.00 seconds [3-time Olympian is shown above]
• Women’s 5 km 2001 Hayley Lewis in 1 hour 0 minutes 90 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2002 Trudee Hutchinson in 1 hour 4 minutes 2 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2003 Chloe Abbott in 1 hour 0 minutes 23 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2004 Lauren Arndt in 1 hour 3 minutes 10 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2005 Kate Brookes-Peterson in 1 hour 2 minutes 37 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2006 Kate Brookes-Peterson in 59 minutes 16 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2007 Kate Brookes-Peterson in 1 hour 5 minutes 32.00 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2008 Alexandra Bagley in 59 minutes 21.02 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2009 Kate Brookes-Peterson in 59 minutes 24.00 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2010 Bonnie McDonald in 1 hour 0 minutes 20 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2011 Bonnie McDonald in 59 minutes 18 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2012 Leah Cutting in 1 hour 3 minutes 4.70 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2013 Bonnie McDonald in 59 minutes 31.58 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2014 Sacha Downing in 1 hour 5 minutes 27.42 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2015 Chelsea Gubecka in 1 hour 0 minutes 59.70 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2016 Chelsea Gubecka in 59 minutes 58 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2017 Kiah Melverton in 58 minutes 6.10 seconds
• Women’s 5 km 2018 Not held
• Women’s 5 km 2019 Not held
• Women’s 5 km 2020 Madeleine Gough in 58 minutes 8.56 seconds
• Women’s 5 km time trial 2018 Chelsea Gubecka in 58 minutes 16.01 second
• Women’s 5 km time trial 2019 Kareena Lee in 58 minutes 37.79 seconds
• Women’s 5 km time trial 2020 Kareena Lee 56 minutes 33.31 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2001 Hayley Lewis in 2 hours 32 minutes 15 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2002 Trudee Hutchinson in 2 hours 14 minutes 28 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2003 Trudee Hutchinson in 2 hours 1 minute 50.09 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2004 Catherine Ware in 2 hours 7 minutes 9 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2005 Kate Brookes-Peterson in 2 hours 3 minutes 41 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2006 Kate Brookes-Peterson in 2 hours 5 minutes 12 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2007 Kate Brookes-Peterson in 2 hours 7 minutes 3.00 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2008 Melissa Gorman in 1 hour 59 minutes 50.95 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2009 Melissa Gorman in 2 hours 0 minutes 40.00 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2010 Melissa Gorman in 2 hours 3 minutes 17 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2011 Melissa Gorman in 1 hour 59 minutes 3 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2012 Melissa Gorman in 2 hours 2 minutes 35.68 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2013 Chelsea Gubecka in 2 hours 4 minutes 2.97 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2014 Chelsea Gubecka in 2 hours 4 minutes 18 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2015 Melissa Gorman in 2 hours 2 minutes 13 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2016 Chelsea Gubecka in 2 hours 4 minutes 29.37 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2017 Chelsea Gubecka in 2 hours 6 minutes 33.00 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2018 Chelsea Gubecka in 2 hours 12 minutes 1 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2019 Kareena Lee in 2 hours 3 minutes 50.08 seconds
• Women’s 10 km 2020 Kareena Lee in 2 hours 2 minutes 28.35 seconds
• Women’s 20 km 1992 Shelley Taylor-Smith          
• Women’s 20 km 1994 Shelley Taylor-Smith in 4 hours 12 minutes 2.09 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 1990 Shelley Taylor-Smith        
• Women’s 25 km 1991 Susie Maroney 
• Women’s 25 km 1992 Not held
• Women’s 25 km 1993 Shelley Taylor-Smith in 5 hours 13 minutes 59 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 1994 Not held
• Women’s 25 km 1995 Melissa Cunningham 
• Women’s 25 km 1996 Shelley Taylor-Smith              
• Women’s 25 km 1997 Tracey Knowles in 5 hours 4 minutes 14.00 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 1998 Tracey Knowles in 5 hours 38 minutes 55.00 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 1999 Kelly Driffield in 5 hours 29 minutes 9.00 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2000 Bronwen Whitehead in 5 hours 47 minutes 13.00 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2001 Shelly Clark in 6 hours 36 minutes 46 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2002 Shelly Clark in 6 hours 15 minutes 9 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2003 Shelly Clark in 5 hours 25 minutes 28.00 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2004 Melissa Benson in 5 hours 55 minutes 37 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2005 Lauren Arndt in 5 hours 40 minutes 40 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2006 Shelly Clark in 6 hours 8 minutes 16 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2007 Shelly Clark in 6 hours 41 minutes 20.00 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2008 Shelly Clark in 5 hours 27 minutes 51.78 seconds
• Women’s 25 km 2009 Shelly Clark in 5 hours 34 minutes 45.00 seconds
• Women’s 4×1.25 km relay 2017 City of Perth 58:33.80 (Chloe Green, Sacha Downing, Paul Laver, Simon Huitenga)
• Women’s 4×1.25 km relay 2018 City of Perth 57:25.01 (Chloe Green, Samantha Watts, Reilly Kennedy, Simon Huitenga)
• Women’s 4×1.25 km relay 2019 TSS Aquatics 57:49.97 (Kiah Melverton, Bianca Crisp, Lachlan Colquhoun, Kai Edwards)
• Women’s 4×1.25 km relay 2020 TSS Aquatics 58:18.57 (Kiah Melverton, Madeleine Gough, Riley Clout, Kai Edwards)

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