Riverton Masters Long Course 400m/800m Event

There are few sporting events on the world stage that we might think of as being big.

• The couple of tennis matches played last week in England? - Not big.


• The little bike ride currently underway in France? - Not big at all.


• The few little soccer games played every four years in different countries? - Definitely not what you would call big.

There is only one sporting event in the world arena that the word BIG is simply too small a word to describe.

And there is only one sporting event in the world arena where the word INAUGURAL is simply too modest a word to describe.

That event was the INAUGURAL Riverton Masters Long Course 400m/800m swim!!!

Yes, bigger than Wimbledon, more massive than the Tour de France, and even more widely talked about than the FIFA World Cup, the 400m/800m event was staged at the Riverton Leisureplex on Sunday 26 June with huge success.

Guided by the firm direction of Swim Organiser Damien Eyre, the man we affectionately refer to as 'Coach', and his trusty side-kick Graeme Pow, the man we reverently refer to as 'GP', all swimmers were checked in on the day and the afternoon proceeded without a hitch - except for one swim where the swimmer didn't have the whistle blown to signal 700m and only two laps to go of an 800m record attempt. However, that was only a minor glitch and all three time keepers have been sacked, thus ensuring it doesn't happen again!

On the day, there were 28 swims with 8 records being set, which is a mighty afternoon of swimming in anyone's language. From Riverton, nine people swam a variety of events and their accomplishments are listed below.

400m Freestyle:

• Nadine Neethling in 7.25.76


• Nola Byrne in 8.29.14


• Lee Murphy in 5.16.06


• Simon Innes in 7.51.41


• Graeme Pow in 7.02.22


• Kevin Hall in 7.36.44

400m Backstroke:

• Damien Eyre in 5.27.70

400m Individual Medley:

• Shane Wallace in 7.27.09

800m Freestyle:

• Damien Eyre in 9.53.23


• Shane Wallace in 12.04.34

800m Breaststroke

• Pauline Southall in 18.41.92

Congratulations to everyone that swam on the day. They did themselves proud and the club proud. Well done!

The event could not have occurred without time and effort being given by a team of volunteers on the day who willingly and admirably fulfilled a raft of time keeping duties. Many thanks go to Malira Cocking, Lesley Robinson, Hilary Vaughan, Barbara Morris, Nola Byrne and Pauline Southall for their work on the day. Riverton looked organised and professional and it was a good showing by everyone.

Certificates of achievement and appreciation were awarded to everyone before training on Monday 4 July. Shown below is the Swim Organiser contemplating his speech before making presentations.

Shown below are Simon, Hilary, Kevin, Lee, Graeme and Malira with their certificates.