Pier to Pub
The Lorne Pier to Pub is an annual, 1.2-km open water swimming race held in January at Lorne, a town located on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. It began in the 1970s, when members of the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club dared each other to dive from the pier, swim through Louttit Bay and finish by body-surfing the waves onto the Lorne foreshore, before attending the Lorne Pub.[1]
The race today consists of the same process. Contestants must register for a ballot to take part.[2] Swimmers times are recorded at the finish line, and published in the Herald Sun Newspaper the next morning.[3] The race is completed on average in 22 minutes, but the quickest race time is 10 minutes, 30 seconds.[2]
The race attracts up to 4,000 competitors,[4] and in 1998, it entered the Guinness Book of Records, with 3071 swimmers, making it the world’s largest open water swim.[3] The race is organised by the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club with major partner [GMHBA Health Insurance], and supported by the Rotary Club of Highton. Proceeds from the race go to the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club.[3]
Notable Previous winners
- Olympic bronze medalist Rob Woodhouse won in 1986, 1989 and 1993.[5]
- Two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion and former world-record holder in the 1,500-m freestyle Kieren Perkins won in 1992.[6]
- Four-time Olympic medalist Daniel Kowalski won in 1996 and 2007.[7][8]
- British Olympian Ellen Gandy won the women's event in 2012.[9]
References
- ↑ "Cordner and Brown take out nib Lorne Pier to Pub". Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- 1 2 "Some Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- 1 2 3 "Pier to Pub History". Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ↑ Lorne Surf Life Saving Club
- ↑ "Pier to Pub Honour Board". Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ↑ "Grandmother takes on world's biggest ocean race". 9 January 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
- ↑ "Kowalski and Moneghetti return to old stomping ground". 5 November 2008. Archived from the original on September 11, 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ↑ "Kowalski to race in Pier to Pub". 7 January 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
- ↑ "Codie Grimsey and Ellen Gandy handle pressure in Lorne Pier to Pub". Retrieved 9 January 2012.