Pic1: Samantha Guner completed the gruelling 15.5km swim event at Swimland.LONG0distance swimmers received accolades as part of a local swim school’s annual awards night recently.
More than 80 swimmers at Swimland Narre Warren and Hampton Park were recognised for their achievements.
Swimmers competed in varying freestyle distance events including the 3km, 4km and 5km.
Nick Ryan, 12, and Shannon Wijeyeratne, 13, went event further, with both completing the gruelling 8km gold swim.
Nick took four hours and 39 minutes to finish, and Shannon finished in just on five hours.
Samantha Guner also impressed in the 15.5km event.
The 14-year-old trains under the watchful guidance of Swimland club coach Dirk Keesman.
“Samantha is a natural distance swimmer and she trained four times a week to prepare for the five-hour swim,” he said.
“It’s great to see her reap the benefits of her hard work.”
