FEATURE
Defending Champions Plan to Defend Titles at the 50 th aQuellé Midmar Mile
Both Connor Buck and Stephanie Houtman have confirmed they ’ ll be back to defend their titles at the 50th edition of the aQuellé Midmar Mile .
The duo both claimed their first Midmar titles in 2022 – in the respective men ’ s and women ’ s races – and are eager to return to the dam for the 50th edition of the event .
Can Connor Do It Again ?
After his victory at the famous KwaZulu-Natal race , Connor went on to qualify for the World Championships in Budapest and also secured a top-10 spot at the World Junior Open Water Championships later in the year .
“ I feel that I ’ ve grown a lot in the past year in my open water swimming , particularly in the 10km ,” said the 20-year-old . “ I ’ ve improved in many aspects from my pacing to where I position myself in the pack . Although if I ’ m being honest , I ’ m not sure all of these skills will play a very big role in the mile seeing as it is very short for an open water race . It will probably come down to who is the fastest on the day .”
Speaking about what he learned during last year ’ s aQuellé Midmar Mile , Connor added : “ I realised that my sighting needs quite a bit of work . I didn ’ t exactly swim a straight line in last year ’ s race so that is one aspect that I could improve on .
“ I ’ m certainly going to do everything in my power to fight for another win , but I don ’ t want to jinx it and I don ’ t want to lose sight of this year ’ s race fantasising about racking up wins . The important thing for me is to stay focused on this year ’ s edition and have the best possible race by learning from last year .”
Stephanie ’ s Has Stiff Competition
Stephanie made a last-minute decision to travel to Midmar last year and it paid off as she claimed the women ’ s title . This year there was no doubt about whether she would compete or not . While Connor will have the British duo of Ashley Hogg and Bailey Hairsine to contend with ( apart from the usual South African contingent ), Stephanie has the even tougher task of taking on the world champion over 10km , Sharon van Rouwendaal . She ’ s taking it all in her stride , however .
“ Open water is very unpredictable , anything can happen in the race but I guess having more and more experience does give you a little bit of an advantage ,” said the Pretoria swimmer , adding , “ Swimming is a journey for me and the more I race , the more I learn about myself and the areas I need to improve on .”
Speaking about the possibility of back-to-back wins , Stephanie added : “ It will be tough but I ’ m going to enjoy the race and hopefully get a podium finish … I love swimming the Midmar Mile and really look forward to the race . “ You have to commend [ race director ] Wayne Riddin for creating this world-renowned open water race and to swim in the 50th edition is an absolute privilege .”
Connor is also looking forward to being part of the half-century celebrations . “ The fact that it ’ s the largest open water swim in the world and that there are so many top-quality athletes always makes it an exciting experience . It ’ s an important part of open water swimming history and it feels great to be there for the 50th milestone .”
12 aQuellé Midmar Mile | Worlds Largest Open Water Swim