Couple Stays Together Swimmingly : Rough water: Derks wins men’s 10-mile race and girlfriend, Bowman, finishes right behind him at Seal Beach event.
While waiting by the pier for the first swimmer to finish the 10-mile race of the Seal Beach Rough Water Swim on Saturday, 11-year-old Jason Cosweld shook his head, uttering how crazy these guys must be for swimming in such cold water.
A few minutes later, Chris Derks of Virginia was the first to emerge from the chilly ocean and run about 30 yards from the surf though a make-shift portal to finish first in the event at 2 hours 59.45 seconds.
“It was pretty easy,” said Derks, who noted he was glad to finish the swim after having to pull out of a 25-kilometer race at the seven-kilometer mark last week in Atlanta. “It was a bit cold out there, but I’m happy with my time.”
The 10-mile rough-water swim started at the Huntington Beach Pier and ended at the Seal Beach Pier. At the start of Saturday’s race, the ocean waters were a cool 63 degrees.
Well off Michael Nelson’s 1990 record time of 2:42.48, Derks, 25, said he kept playing in his head the guitar solo from the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” to keep him on pace. That and joking with his paddler Janet Yee, who stayed alongside Derks on a paddle board.
“There was nothing else to do, so I thought I’d swim this,” Derks said. “Besides, it beats getting a job.”
About seven minutes later, Derks’ girlfriend, Bambi Bowman, of Washington, came running out of the surf to finish second overall and win the women’s race in 3:07.42.
Bowman, 21, who trains with Derks, said she felt a little sick at the start at the race, but got into her rhythm as the race went on.
“It must have been that muffin I had for breakfast,” Bowman said, who will be participating in the 25K swim at the Pan Pacific games in August at Atlanta. “But after a while it was OK, and the water [temperature] wasn’t any big deal.”
Kari Lydersen, 19, of Northwestern University, finished third overall and second in the women’s race at 3:13.11. Seal Beach resident Lindsay Hilgers, 14, who was the youngest female participant to enter the event in its 27-year history, finished in an impressive 3:30.29 to take fourth in the women’s competition.
“I didn’t think the water was cold at all,” Hilgers said. “But the only part that was bad was the Bolsa Chica stretch of the swim. It was so long and I kept looking for the Jack In the Box [restaurant] to see if I was getting closer. But I never once thought of quitting.”
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Notes
Finishing third overall and second in the men’s 10-mile swim was Ryan Utsumi, 16, representing Southern California Aquatics in Tustin. His time was 3:18.29. Ventura’s Jim Monica, 44, was third in the men’s competition at 3:18.39. Meghan Mitchell, 22, was third in the women’s event in 3:17.14. Utsumi, of Placentia (El Dorado High), was selected to the U.S. national team. The top three men’s and women’s finishers in the 15K were selected to the U.S. team that will compete at the Open 10K championship Aug. 19 at Lake Natoma in Sacramento.
In other races, Matt McFarland, 19, of North Coast Aquatic in Carlsbad, won the men’s three-mile race in 54.25. Jennifer McLeod, 20, of the Mission Viejo Nadadores finished first in the event in 56.53. . . . Tim Martin, 17, representing the Golden West Swim Club in Huntington Beach and a senior at Kennedy High, won the one-mile swim in 18.58. Nicole Dotts, 15, of Golden West, was the winner in the women’s one-mile in 20.57.