Reigning national open water swim champ Nick Sloman will have the chance to defend his title on home waters, after Lake Kawana was announced as host venue.
The meeting will be held on March 13-14, after Swimming Australia was forced to postpone its first event of the year due to COVID-19 related border closures.
The championships were initially set to take place at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith from January 29-31 but Open Water Performance Manager Greg Shaw said a range of factors contributed to the event relocating to the Sunshine Coast.
“The decision to move the Australian Open Water Swimming Championships up north was not made lightly, but ultimately the availability of facilities played a big part in our decision making,” Shaw said.
“It (Lake Kawana) is also clearly a terrific venue which will give the athletes another chance to gain competitive race experience in warm and controlled conditions – similar to what they might encounter in Tokyo.”
Sloman is looking forward to competing and pressing his claims for the Olympics.
The Peregian Beach 23-year-old was poised to attempt his title defence in January but has been forced to adapt.
“I was probably a bit more prepared than others for it,” he said.
“Hopefully, when the race is held it will be a bit more competitive and I will also have time to improve my skills. It will be interesting to see how we shape up for it in a couple of months.”
He’s been trying to stay motivated in the absence of events.
Sloman hasn’t competed in an open water race for nearly a year, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
He has been logging countless laps at Noosa Aquatic Centre, with a once-a-month training session at Noosa Bay.
He’s endeavoured to remain focused.
“I’m just trying to stay motivated. It’s hard will all the races being postponed or cancelled (due to COVID-19),” he said.
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“Coach JR (John Rodgers) is trying to keep us ticking over, to make sure we’re not slipping behind the eight-ball and to make sure we’re improving.”
Sloman believes he’s getting better, despite the lack of competition.
“My times have improved slightly (in the pool) but it would just be good to have a hit-out in the open water.”
“There’s a few ocean swims in Queensland coming up in the next month or two so hopefully I can have a crack at them and test my skills.”
The Noosa Summer Swim, which he was won multiple times, could be among upcoming events. It’s scheduled for February 21.
But it’s the Tokyo Olympics, in July, which are really on his radar.
He can qualify if he’s in the top two at the national championships and is then the top Aussie at a qualifying event scheduled to be held in Japan.
Sloman’s club-mate Kareena Lee has already qualified for the Games.
There are also several other Olympic hopefuls from the Sunshine Coast.
