Local Long Beach swimmer Matthew McDermott spent his high school and college years at USC focused on breaststroke and individual medley.
But the 25-year-old swimmer used his many years of high-intensity pool training under his Trojan swim cap to win the 3-mile Naples Island Swims in Long Beach, California going away in 52 minutes 45 seconds. Matues Luevano finished second overall in 58:12 in the race that started on a foggy fall Southern California morning.
High school backstroker and distance freestyle specialist Theodora Sabev [shown above] from the Scottsdale Aquatic Club traveled from Arizona to similarly dominate the women’s division. Sophia Johnston finished second in 1:01:41.
It was also great to see 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Katie McLaughlin complete the 3-mile circumnavigation swim. One of the most promising young swimmers as a high school student, McLaughlin broke her C6 vertebrae in a fun swim at the beach during a college training camp with her California Berkeley teammates in Hawaii. She faced a long, hard trip back to the sport, but ultimately she returned to compete at the highest level and continues to give back to the sport, coaching and inspiring a new generation of high school students while competing in the Naples Island Swims, a competition that dates back to 1903.
2023 Naples Island 3-mile Swim Results (Top 25)
- Matthew McDermott 52:45
- Matues Luevano 58:12
- Tyler Fidler 58:15
- Theodora Sabev 58:21
- Mark Barham 59:19
- Asher Kocalis 1:00:35
- Jaden Feliciano 1:00:36
- Nelson Hansen 1:00:55
- Sophia Johnston 1:01:41
- Nicholas Soule 1:01:43
- John McCann 1:02:29
- Rodney Hyde 1:02:35
- Michael McDermott 1:03:08
- Joshua Taylor 1:03:24
- Dylan Jones 1:03:39
- Mikaela D’Adamo 1:04:08
- Evan Scales 1:04:14
- Dave Bartels 1:04:23
- Brandon Traudt 1:04:58
- James Brady 1:05:00
- Katie McLaughlin 1:05:11
- Parks Wesson 1:06:35
- Benjamin Soule 1:06:39
- Jeff Wheeler 1:07:08
- Tula Masterman 1:07:16
Photos courtesy of Alex Kostich, a multi-time winner of the Naples Island Swims and dozens of other open water swims across the United States and in the Caribbean Sea.
© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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