There was a dramatic finish to the Pier to Pier Swim Race on Saturday (12th August) – the 65th running of the annual event.
After a swim of 1.8km across Sandown Bay it was a close call between 4 swimmers as they headed towards the finish. In total 76 swimmers took part.
The winner was Alistair Bingham from Maidenhead Marlins in a time of 31:36 minutes. He was followed by David Stannard from Reading SC in 31:43 mins and 3rd place went to Aiden Pierce of Seaclose SC in 31:48 mins. 4th place was awarded to Russall Cooper, unattached, in 31:49 mins.
Saturday’s fastest lady was Katie Shepherd from Trinity SC in 37:09 mins. The fastest Isle of Wight male was Aiden Pierce of Seaclose SC in 31:48 mins and the fastest Island lady was Lindsey Shenton of IOW Marlins SC in 38:03 mins.
The fastest Breaststroke swimmer was Paul Lewis of South London SC in 40:56 mins.
There were 12 other Trophies won, with full results available on the IOW Marlins Masters SC website.
After helping at last year’s event and never having swam competitively in the sea, Jo Cooper (aged 70) decided she wanted to do the swim and she successfully completed the course in 57:17 mins and in the process raised £360 in sponsorship for the Holy Cross Church, Binstead.
Bob Cooper, Chairman of the IOW Marlins and Safety Officer for the swim said:
“Yet again we were blessed with perfect weather and sea conditions and the 76 swimmers all had good swims.
“I thank all the Kayakers and canoeists, the lifeboat crews from Sandown and Ryde and the Shanklin Deep Sea Fishermen for their assistance in making sure there was the required safety cover, without which we could not hold the swim.
“All the monies form the entry fees that is left over after our expenses are donated to those charities that assist to make the event possible. It is proposed to hold the 66th Pier to Pier on Saturday 11th August 2018 starting at noon”.
