Club and Community | 26 January 2025
Triple treat for Lee as Johnson doubles down at Aust Open Water Champs
HOMETOWN hero Kyle Lee (pictured right) snatched his third gold medal of the 2025 Australian Open Water Championships at Busselton today – adding the men’s 5km open title to his 10km open and mixed 4×1.25km relay gold medals.
His Paris teammate – and Olympic silver medallist – Moesha Johnson (pictured left) claimed the women’s 5km in a dominant championship performance that followed her 10km win on Thursday.
The pair’s respective wins cemented a plane ticket and gold cap for the World Aquatics Singapore World Championships to be held late July-August.
Only first place getters earned automatic qualification with the rest of the Dolphins team to be named pending results at the World Cup stop in Egypt next month.
In a controlled race, Lee (53.33.6) made his move in the last lap to slip past Noosa’s Thomas Raymond (53:34.90) and Melbourne Vicentre Nick Sloman (53:38.40).
“To qualify for Singapore (Worlds) doesn’t feel quite real … and to now have that 5km spot is awesome. While it was great to have that break after the Olympics, and to reset, it’s also great to be back in the water,” Lee said.
The 23-year-old is studying a Bachelor of Commerce and hopes to finish his degree this year while juggling training and competition in Egypt and Singapore.
“I haven’t thought much beyond Singapore and there’s a few personal things to tick off but I am really enjoying being back at home, racing today in front of family and friends,” he said.
Lee’s triple treat also helped North Coast to be awarded the champion club on points.
Johnson flipped her race plan from her cagey 10km effort to shoot off the start line and dominate all four laps of the 5km, touching the finish board in 57:30.70 with Maddie Gough second (58:21.10) and Chelsea Gubecka and Jacqueline Davison-McGovern tying for third (58:22.30).
Queenslander Johnson will now return to train in Germany to prepare for World Cup in Egypt ahead of Australian Open Championships in April where she will attempt to also qualify for the pool 1500m event.
“The main focus for the championships was to qualify for Singapore so I decided to put the pressure on early and it worked,” she said.
“There’s a lot of competitions in the next few months, so that means a lot of preparation to fit. It’s really just about getting in the best prep that I can and getting as fit as I can because when you’re racing a program that’s really busy … you want to get fit to be able to back it up time and time again.
“I have never won a World Championship and international experience in open water is so important – the more you race it, the more you learn about your competitors, different strategies and race conditions. Getting amongst it is just so critical for this sport.
“Europeans are so passionate about distance sports, like cycling with the Tour de France for example. Being amongst that and their mindsets of endurance, plus getting to race my competitors in training and on the weekend has been invaluable. It’s given me so much confidence coming into these sorts of events now.”
In all, more than 1000 swimmers competed over the four days of the Australian Open Water Championships and OceanSwim Festival.
Conditions were near perfect on the final day of racing with water temperature hovering around 24 degrees and Generation Next showcasing their talent.
With Dolphins new head coach Fernando Possenti looking on; age group swimmers Ella Reynolds, Chloe Brodrick, Eleanor Flowers, Amelie Smith, Madison Brand, Piper Cameron, Thomas Dreverman, Daniel Carter, Luke Higgs, Riley Meares and Mackenzie Hunter all impressed.
In multi-class events; S19 athlete Ky Millican (Goodlife) opened the year with a win in the men’s 14&over 5km and Amie Holwill (S19) winning the women’s multi-class 14&over.
For Sunshine Coast athlete Millican, he has started the year as he finished it. The 17-year-old claimed a national title at the Australian Short Course Championships in September.
RESULTS:
Men 5km Open
1. Kyle Lee (North Coast) 53:33.60
2. Thomas Raymond (Noosa) 53:34.90
3. Nick Sloman (Melbourne Vicentre) 53:38.40
4. Kazushi Imafuku (Japan) 53:48.60
4. Adam Sudow (North Coast) 53:52.40
*Adam Sudow awarded fourth-place as fourth Australian to touch
Men’s 14yr & Over 5km Multi-Class
- Ky Millican S19 (Goodlife) 1:06:57.10
- Ben Morrison S14 (Miami) 1:07:12.40
- Daniel Rigby S9 (Knox Pymble) 1:11:29.10
- Daniel Lill S14 (Campbelltown) 1:13:38.10
Boys’ 19yr 5km
- Xavier Collins (Westside) 56:37.50
- Conor Hayes (Surrey Park) 58:29.50
- Kristian Seidl (Westside) 58:32.40
- Flynn Czaplinski (Westside) 58:35.60
Boys’ 18yr 5km
1. Thomas Dreverman (Westside) 56:36.50
1. Daniel Carter (The Hills) 56:36.50
3. George Abbot (Norwest) 56:40.40
4. Brady Bryant (Ginninderra) 58:21.20
4. Nathan Willams (Campbelltown) 58:21.20
Boys’ 17yr 5km
- Luke Higgs (Warringah) 57:33:30
- Cooper Reynolds (Noosa) 58:18.90
- Aidan Mills (North Coast) 58:19.50
- Lachlan Evans (Churchie) 58:20.10
Boys’ 16yr 5km Open Water
- Riley Meares (St Peters Western) 57:33.70
- Thomas Blandford (Bunbury) 59:23.80
- Ashton Rodgers (Rocky City) 59:27.20
- Jake Boyle (Engadine) 59:31.70
Women’s 5km Open Water
1. Moesha Johnson (Griffith Uni) 57:30.70
2. Maddie Gough (Miami) 58:21.10
3. Chelsea Gubecka (Chandler) 58:22.30
3. Jacqueline Davison-McGovern 58:22.30
Women’s 14yr & Over 5km Multi-Class
- Amie Holwill (S19) (Bunbury) 1:05:03.40
- Chloe Maxwell (S14) (Goodlife) 1:21:11.80
Girls’ 19yr 5km
- Mackenzie Hunter (MLC Aquatic) 1:02:03.00
- Esther Davies (Noosa) 1:02:03.20
- Jazlyn Johnson (Emu Park) 1:04:55.10
- Isabella Cox (St George) 1:05:13.10
Girls’ 18yr 5km
- Ella Reynolds (Noosa) 1:02:03.20
- Chloe Brodrick (Cruiz) 1:02:03.20
- Bianca Monaco (North Coast) 1:02:13.80
- Abbie Yourell (Alstonville) 1:05:12.70
Girls’ 17yr 5km
- Eleanor Flowers (North Coast) 1:02:44.00
- Amelie Smith (Rocky City) 1:02:45.90
- Rylee Smith (Sunshine Coast Grammar) 1:02:46.00
- Charlotte Bowmer (Trinity Grammar) 1:02:52.10
Girls’ 16yr 5km
- Madison Brand (Cheltenham) 1:02:55.30
- Piper Cameron (Norwood) 1:02:56.00
- Ruby Carter (The Hills) 1:04:35.70
- Regan Palfrey (Redlands) 1:05:56.30
Club Point Score
- North Coast (490)
- Noosa (382)
- Westside Christchurch (333)
- St Peters Western (296)