Records are smashed in Busso Jetty blockbuster

Thousands of swimmers and spectators lined the Busselton Jetty yesterday for Busselton’s biggest annual event, with two records set in the open men’s and open women’s events.

Rhys Mainstone was the first to cross the finish line in the Busselton Jetty Swim in an incredible time of 39min.35sec., breaking the record by 29sec., and Jaime Bowler was the first female to cross in a record time of 43:19.

Mainstone said that open ocean swimming all depended on the weather and it was perfect on Sunday.

“I knew if I was in good form on the day I was in with a chance to win, but to smash the record, I’m pretty pleased with that,” he said.

“It’s such a good spot.

“We spent the weekend in Busselton and Margaret River and the event entertainment on Saturday was great.”

The swim began in 1996 with only 82 applicants and has ballooned to more than 2500 swimmers this year, selling out in less than a day.

The event has become the perfect preparation race for the Rottnest Channel swim, which is held two weeks after the South West ocean swim.

Female record holder Bowler said she was training for the Rottnest Channel swim but she had been aiming for the record at the Busselton Jetty Swim for eight years.

“I was the only one of my group who knew it was a record time, so I was pretty excited,” she said.

“It’s one of the most popular races because of the people and the atmosphere. I aim to do it every year because of how positive and competitive it is.”

Sixteen-year-old Kyle Lee was second to cross the finish line with a time of 41:37 and said he had done a lot of training to compete at the highest level for the Busselton swim. The jetty was littered with spectators who took the opportunity to walk the second-longest wooden jetty in the world for free and cheer on their family and friends.

City of Busselton Deputy Mayor John McCallum said the swim was the biggest annual event in Busselton and he loved participating with a team.

“We had a member pull out so we went from being named the Quadruple Bypass to the Triple Bypass,” he said.

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