No Passengers take out Rottnest virtual swim at Karratha Leisureplex

Avid Pilbara swimmers took to the water over the weekend to participate in this year’s Rottnest Island virtual swim. Close to 100 Karratha residents gathered at the Karratha Leisureplex at 6am on Saturday to swim the gruelling 20km race in teams of five to 10. The top three teams were separated by just two minutes after the first 4km, with Born to Swim holding a slim lead over No Passengers and Karratha Amateur Swim Club. The teams continued to trade fast splits over the next 8km with Born to Run able to hold the lead at the 12km mark by two minutes over No Passengers while 7 Smiles and KASC trailed just behind. The final 8km were always going to be hard, but No Passengers were up for the challenge taking the lead at the 16km mark with a time of 3:04 to lead Born to Swim by one minute. No Passengers refused to slow down, building their lead over the final 4km to come home in first with a time of 5:04, with KASC in second on 5:12 and Born to Swim trailing five seconds behind in third. No Passengers team captain Ebony Hennessey said it was consistent times that got them to the front. “We did it two years ago and it was good community event to take part in,” she said. “It’s a very popular event in Karratha, so people always turn out for it.” In Tom Price, two teams from the Tom Price Amateur Swimming Club competed in the event. The first team from the club finished in a speedy 5 hours and 30 minutes, followed closely by the second group who finished a minute later. In Newman, local Brandon Smith finished the swim solo, completing the arduous 20km in 8hr 50min. In the team category the Newman Orecas took out the team win with a time of 7hr 21min.