Courtesy of Ben Stubenberg, Race For The Conch Eco-SeaSwim, Turks & Caicos, Carribbean Sea.

The 7th annual Race for the Conch Eco-SeaSwim was held on July 2nd under perfect conditions for its three beautiful open water swim races in Turks & Caicos. The turquoise water over the 2.4-mile, 1-mile, and 1/2-mile courses saw Mario diFilipo win both the 2.4-mile race in 54 minutes 30 seconds and the 1-mile race in 22 minutes 14 seconds in a pair of exciting back-to-back races where he won by only a few seconds.

Richard Rush, a precocious pre-teenager at just 12 years old, won the 1/2-mile race in an impressive 12 minutes 10 seconds.

Meg Omainsky won the 2.4-mile race in 1 hour 6 minutes 47 seconds, while Marissa Carlson won the 1-mile race in 24 minutes 56 seconds. Nadja Martinovic, defending champion from last year, won the 1/2-mile race in 12 minutes 33 seconds.

“Several pre-teens and young teens entered all races, some doing quite well, ignoring suggestions to hang back so they wouldn’t get in the churn of the bigger swimmers at the start,” said race director Ben Stubenberg. “The next generation of open water swimmers is quite prepared to step up to the challenge.”

Copyright © 2016 by World Open Water Swimming Association