Burlington masters duo tops at marathon Florida swim
BURLINGTON POST — It may seem that a day in the ocean waters of Key West Florida is a blissful way to relax in the sun, but don’t tell this to Lynn Rodgers and Rob Kent.
Lynn Rodgers and Rob Kent of the Burlington Masters Swim Club celebrate their masters division win in a marathon competition in Key West, Fla.
The two members of the Burlington Masters Swim Club and the Lake Ontario Swim Team set out to swim 20 kilometres in Florida last month in what only can be described as gruelling conditions in the 15th FKCC Swim around Key West.
Their first-place finishes in the Masters division of this marathon swim were not accomplished without fighting off the currents, large waves from passing ships, the warm salty and silty water, the occasional sting of jellyfish and the scare of shark sightings.
Kent finished the race in five hours and 23 minutes with Rodgers just behind him at 5:41.
In total, 15 swimmers from Ontario entered the race, representing the Lake Ontario Swim Team (LOST). LOST swimmers train in Lake Ontario from June through September and enters various open water swims such as The Swim Around Key West.
Kent and Rodgers are no newcomers to the sport of swimming. They both compete regularly in open water swims, triathlons and in the pool representing the BMSC. In March, Rodgers came first in the Masters provincial championships in the 1,500-metre race and Kent earned three second-place finishes in his specialty, the breast stroke.
Both are looking forward to the LOST-hosted 10K open water Canadian championships in Lake Ontario off Oakville next month.
Kent and six other LOST members will attempt to duplicate fellow BMSC marathon swimmer Melanie Price’s accomplishment from last year — swimming across Lake Ontario — later this summer.
For more details about the BMSC and LOST, visit www.bmsc.ca and www.lostswimming.com.
— David Richards, BMSC