World 10km champion Sharon van Rouwendaal lived up to her billing as the pre-race favourite while Connor Buck claimed a second straight men’s title at the aQuellé Midmar Mile on Sunday. The Netherlands’ Van Rouwendaal, who was visiting South Africa for the first time to take part in the world’s largest open-water swimming event dominated the…

There was much celebration on the edge of the dam as Mike Pengelly crossed the finish line of the aQuellé Midmar Mile for the 50th time on Saturday. It was a memorable day for the 76-year-old who has swum every edition of the world’s now-largest open-water swimming event. The scene at the finish was very different…

Gloomy weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of the swimmers taking on the aQuellé Midmar Mile Charity Challenge over the last two days. A total of 22 swimmers completed the gruelling 16-Mile Challenge, swimming eight miles on Thursday and eight more on Friday, while there were 231 entrants in the 8-Mile Challenge split over the…

Intrepid swimmers taking on the aQuellé Midmar Mile’s Charity Challenge dived into action at the KwaZulu-Natal dam today. The hugely popular race has raised millions of rand for charity over the years, but one woman has been particularly prolific in adding to that significant total. Cape Town swimmer Joanne Barnard has raised over R600,000 in…

Many champions have graced the podium in the 50-year history of the aQuellé Midmar Mile and numerous characters have emerged as stalwarts of the iconic event. One such swimmer, who has gone somewhat under the radar despite her enormous success, is Rita Townsend. The 66-year-old is the mother of 2004 Olympic relay champion and former…