Barbar Sets High-Water Mark in Victory

Jim Barbar said it was a perfect day to swim in the ocean. And judging by his finish at the 29th Seal Beach Rough Water Swim, the Indiana native wasn’t far off.

Barbar, 32, who trains exclusively at an Indianapolis pool, won the 10-mile ocean swim Saturday in a course-record 2 hours 35 minutes 25 seconds. Barbar defended his title and broke his record time set last year.

“It was a little choppy out there but it was still very nice,” Barbar said. “I think I’m in the best condition I’ve ever been in. Plus, with my paddler, Matt Zimmer from Huntington Beach, who kept me on course and was sensitive to the waves and tides, there was no way I could lose this race.”

Barbar’s finish was almost 12 minutes faster than his time last year. The 10-mile race, which started at 6 a.m., went from the Huntington Beach Pier to the Seal Beach Pier.

Cyrus Crews, 20, of Garden Grove, came in about two minutes behind Barbar to finish second in 2:36.59. Ventura’s Jim McConica, the event’s oldest participant at 46, finished third in 2:39.20.

In the women’s race, Heather Royer of San Francisco won in 2:48.11. Royer, who trains in the icy San Francisco Bay waters, said this was not only the first time she had participated in this race but it was also her first 10-miler.

“Before this race, the longest race I’ve been in was 2 1/2 miles,” said Royer, who grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska. “But the water was so warm, it was really nice.”

Royer’s coach, Penny Dean, who holds women age-group records in the Catalina Channel Swim and the English Channel, said she is trying to talk Royer into doing the English Channel.

“I think this race [Seal Beach] is a good event to give you an idea about whether the English Channel [20 miles] is something you would like to try. And I think she would do very good,” Dean said.

Said Royer: “I think I would like to try it. I mean the 10 miles I did today wasn’t bad. I started to swim, my mind went blank and then I was done.”

The closest battle in the 10-mile race was for second place between Laural Hooper of Laguna Beach and Nancy North of San Diego.

Although Hooper had led throughout most of the race, North, 29, started to catch her at the jetty south of the Seal Beach Pier. From there, it was an all-out sprint as the two raced the last half-mile to the shore. Both came running out of the water, sprinting on the sand to the finish gate.

North edged Hooper by three seconds to finish second in the women’s division (2:49.37).

“It was just a great race,” North said. “From the jetty to the finish we both raced as fast as we could go. I love it.”

Notes

Alex Kostich of Santa Monica finished 24 seconds ahead of Carlsbad’s Matt McFarland to win the three-mile race (44:24). Jennifer McLeod, representing the Mission Viejo Nadadores, won the women’s race in 49:23.

In the one-mile race, Jaime Jackson of Long Beach, who had the fastest overall time, won the women’s division in 15:33. Brian Soria of Santa Fe Springs won the men’s race in 17:35.