26/01/2026
Albany Creek Swim Club Open Water Nationals
Albany Creek Swim Club athletes delivered an outstanding performance at the National Open Water Championships, showcasing resilience, preparation, and competitive excellence across multiple events and age groups. From personal bests to podium finishes and our first-ever relay entry, the campaign was a strong statement of the club’s continued growth in open water racing.
Day 1 Highlights
The championships opened with strong individual performances:
Cody placed 5th in the 10km, taking a remarkable 8 minutes and 47 seconds off his previous best time. A composed and disciplined swim that set the tone for the week.
Saffron secured 3rd place in the 7.5km, recording a personal best time of 1:40:00 (an improvement of 3 minutes 4 seconds). After holding second position from the 3.75km mark, Saffron briefly overshot the final turn before regaining course and finishing strongly, a display of maturity and race awareness under pressure.
These results reflected the quality of preparation and commitment shown throughout the lead-up to Nationals.
Day 2 Highlights
Day 2 continued the momentum with depth across the squad:
Tommy produced a standout performance in the 5km, smashing his personal best by 5 minutes 57 seconds to finish in 1:03:00.
Sienna was unfortunately forced to withdraw due to illness. While disappointing, her health remains the priority and she is expected to return stronger next season.
Albany Creek entered its first-ever 4 × 1.5km Relay, with the team finishing 14th in an extremely competitive national field. This marked an important milestone for the program and highlighted the squad’s growing presence at the national level.
Day 3
A scheduled recovery and reset day allowed athletes to recharge ahead of the final racing block. Also provided us an opportunity to check out the beautiful coastline of WA and some team building.
Day 4 Highlights
The final day presented some of the toughest conditions of the meet, with shifting weather, strong winds, and challenging water conditions.
Samara competed in her first National Open Water 5km, pushing through demanding conditions to post a strong performance and gain valuable experience and motivation heading into the next season.
Saffron closed out a massive campaign in dominant fashion, claiming the National Title in the 16yrs 5km with another personal best — an exceptional achievement and a highlight result for the club.
In the boys’ events, racing was briefly halted at the 1.25km mark when Turn Buoy 1 was taken down along the foreshore due to strong winds. After a 45-minute delay, athletes regrouped and restarted the race with professionalism.
Matthew and Clint swam strongly in the Boys 15yrs 5km, finishing 11th and 22nd respectively in a highly competitive
After finishing 5th in the 10km, Cody backed it up with the 5km of his life, claiming 3rd in the 18yrs 5km and his first National Medal. Massive effort.
Bring on 2027.
Head Coach Brendan