$50,000 Prizemoney On Offer As Olympians And Weekend Warriors Line Up For Australian Open Water Championships In WA
Paris Olympic medallists and a host of world champions will headline this year’s $50,000 Australian Open Water Championships and Ocean Swim Festival at Busselton in Western Australia.
For the first time in Swimming Australia’s storied history, open water swimmers will race for prizemoney in a National Championship – with $25,000 on the line for the Men’s and Women’s Open 10km events.
SHOW MEDALS: Moesha Johnson of Australia, silver, Sharon Van Rouwendaal of The Netherlands, gold, and Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy: Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia.
The respective winners will each receive $8000; with $6000 for second and $1500 for third – the remaining $9,500, shared between fourth to eighth places.
The four-day event from January 23-26 in Busselton, some 220km southwest of Perth, is the first major Australian-based swimming event of the year and more than 400 athletes will hit the water including a record field of 15 internationals.
The women’s 10km field will be headlined by Paris Olympic medallists – silver medal winner, Australia’s own Moesha Johnson (Griffith University, QLD) and Italian bronze medallist Ginevra Taddeucci who will be joined by Australia’s 2023 World championship silver medallist and dual Olympian Chelsea Gubecka (Chander, QLD).
Both Johnson and Gubecka were members of Australia’s gold medal winning 4x1500m open water team at the 2024 World Championships, as were Kyle Lee (North Coast, WA) and Nick Sloman (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) who will spearhead the men’s 10km field.
For Australian athletes, selection for the World Championships in Singapore and Junior World Championships in Romania is also on the line.In what is the strongest field ever to contest this event; athletes from Italy, Great Britain, Sri Lanka, Japan, New Zealand, Samoa, Seychelles and South Africa will also line up.
Swimming Australia’s CEO Rob Woodhouse said the record number of athletes – both domestic and international – was testament to the quality of the location, the excellence of racing experience, and professionalism of the event.
“Over the past two years, this has become a hugely sought after bucket-list event. A summer saltwater experience at Busso – where athletes and weekend warriors get to experience quality racing is a January must,” said Woodhouse, a two-time Olympian and himself an accomplished open water marathon swimmer.
“We couldn’t deliver it without our partners – the WA State Government, Swimming WA, and Tourism WA, and of course, the City and people of Busselton.
IN THE FRAME: Australia’s memorable gold medal winning World Championship relay team Kyle Lee, Nic Sloman, Chelsea Gubecka and Moesha Johnson at the Doha World’s. Photo Courtesy World Aquatics.
“The picturesque location and ocean swimming culture in WA creates an experience for the swimmers unlike any in Australia, and the calibre of competitors this year, especially with our four returning Olympians, has attracted world-class racing.
“But really, to have all levels of the swimming community – from elites through to amateurs all competing in such a pristine and wonderful environment – is really, really special.”
Paris Olympian Lee, who anchored the 4x1500m mixed relay team that won gold at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, said: “It’s a special place to swim and for me, it’s home and it’s just so stunning. And it’s the first time all our guys will be together after Paris – which is also pretty cool.”
For the third year running, the event blends high-performance racing with the community focused Ocean Swim races on January 25, attracting elite athletes and hundreds of amateur swimming enthusiasts.
A variety of distances are on offer for the community swim, including 500m, 1.25km, 2.5km, 5km, 7.5km and 10km, with registrations to be taken right up to race time.
Spectators attending the Ocean Swim Festival will also be treated to a number of onshore activities, including music and entertainment for kids and other activities.
EVENT INFO: 2025 Australian Open Water Championships and Ocean Swim Festival at Busselton