Johnson & Lee Take Home 5k Victories To Close Out Aussie OW Championships

2025 SWIMMING AUSTRALIA OPEN WATER CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, January 23rd – Sunday, January 26th
• Busselton Jetty, Western Australia
• Open Water
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview #1/SwimSwam Preview #2
• Start List
• Live Results

The 2025 Swimming Australia Open Water Championships concluded today from Busselton Jetty but not before 23-year-old Kyle Lee snagged his third gold medal of the competition.

After already taking the men’s 10k individual gold and the top prize in the mixed 4×1.25k relay, Lee finished his campaign with a victory in the men’s 5k.

The North Coast swimmer got to the time pad first ahead of Noosa’s Thomas Raymond and Melbourne Vicentre ace Nick Sloman who earned respective silver and bronze.

As a refresher, the competition, paired with the World Aquatics 10k World Series qualifying event, serves as a selection meet for the 2025 World Aquatics Open Water World Championships slated for Singapore this July.

On his most likely qualification, Lee said post-race, “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.

On the women’s side, it was 28-year-old Olympian Moesha Johnson who topped the 5k podium, following up her 10k victory on day one.

Johsnon earned the gold ahead of Maddie Gough who snagged silver while Chelsea Gubecka and Jacqueline Davison-McGovern tied for bronze.

Johnson said of her performance, “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.”

Quotes courtesy of Swimming Australia.

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

1. Ky Millican S19 (Goodlife) 1:06:57.10
2. Ben Morrison S14 (Miami) 1:07:12.40
3. Daniel Rigby S9 (Knox Pymble) 1:11:29.10
4. Daniel Lill S14 (Campbelltown) 1:13:38.10

Boys’ 19yr 5km

1. Xavier Collins (Westside) 56:37.50
2. Conor Hayes (Surrey Park) 58:29.50
3. Kristian Seidl (Westside) 58:32.40
4. 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

1. Luke Higgs (Warringah) 57:33:30
2. Cooper Reynolds (Noosa) 58:18.90
3. Aidan Mills (North Coast) 58:19.50
4. Lachlan Evans (Churchie) 58:20.10

Boys’ 16yr 5km Open Water 

1. Riley Meares (St Peters Western) 57:33.70
2. Thomas Blandford (Bunbury) 59:23.80
3. Ashton Rodgers (Rocky City) 59:27.20
4. 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

1. Amie Holwill (S19) (Bunbury) 1:05:03.40
2. Chloe Maxwell (S14) (Goodlife) 1:21:11.80

Girls’ 19yr 5km

1. Mackenzie Hunter (MLC Aquatic) 1:02:03.00
2. Esther Davies (Noosa) 1:02:03.20
3. Jazlyn Johnson (Emu Park) 1:04:55.10
4. Isabella Cox (St George) 1:05:13.10

Girls’ 18yr 5km

1. Ella Reynolds (Noosa) 1:02:03.20
2. Chloe Brodrick (Cruiz) 1:02:03.20
3. Bianca Monaco (North Coast) 1:02:13.80
4. Abbie Yourell (Alstonville) 1:05:12.70

Girls’ 17yr 5km

1. Eleanor Flowers (North Coast) 1:02:44.00
2. Amelie Smith (Rocky City) 1:02:45.90
3. Rylee Smith (Sunshine Coast Grammar) 1:02:46.00
4. Charlotte Bowmer (Trinity Grammar) 1:02:52.10

Girls’ 16yr 5km

1. Madison Brand (Cheltenham) 1:02:55.30
2. Piper Cameron (Norwood) 1:02:56.00
3. Ruby Carter (The Hills) 1:04:35.70
4. Regan Palfrey (Redlands) 1:05:56.30

Club Point Score

1. North Coast (490)
2. Noosa (382)
3. Westside Christchurch (333)
4. St Peters Western (296)