Marisa Poole and Kevin Poole (shown on left) swam together amid 170 swimmers in the 800-meter Butterfield Sea Swim in the incredibly beautiful Cayman Islands under ideal conditions on Seven Mile Beach.

While Marisa represents the next generation of open water swimmers, the present belongs to the Fraser brothers, Shaune and Brett, who dominated the race and placed first and second in 9:24 and 9:26. Lara Butler, defending champion, finished in 10:08 in an impressive fifth place overall.

The attendance in last Saturday’s event continues remarkable growth in Cayman’s sea swims that mirrors open water swimming’s trend worldwide. In a much-welcomed useful gift for all swimmers, the participants received premium beach towels as a finisher’s prize.

Photos are here.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones