Cole Classic
Open-water swimming event in Sydney, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cole Classic is an open-water swimming event, held annually at Manly in Sydney, Australia. Organisers publicise it as one of Australia's longest running ocean swims.[citation needed] It is organised by Fairfax Events (who also organise City2surf) for The Sydney Morning Herald, with the Manly Life Saving Club.[1]
The race takes place on the first Sunday in February. Both the 1 km and 2 km events start from Shelly Beach and finish at Manly's Steyne Beach.
History
The Cole Classic was started by the Cole family in 1982. The 2 km swim was originally staged at Bondi Beach. In 2007, it was relocated to Manly, on the northern side of Sydney Harbour. Coinciding with the move, a 1 km swim was added to encourage participation of novice swimmers.
In 2009, the swim expected 4,000 combined participants in the two race categories.[2]
In 2010, Luane Rowe, 20, claimed the women's title in the 2 km event (26min) and came third overall. Luane also came second in the 1 km race. Josh Beard, who was the second fastest male in 2010, claimed the 2010 Cole Classic men's trophy in a time of 24min. The oldest swimmer in the field in 2010 was 80-year-old John Kelso from Balgowlah who won the 75-plus category.[3]