A record number of athletes will swim through one of the most recognisable jetties in Australia – the iconic Busselton Jetty – as part of this week’s 2024 Australian Open Water Championships and OceanSwim Festival.

The men’s 10km open water, headed by Australian Dolphin Jack Wilson, will open proceedings at Busselton, some 220km southwest of Perth, tomorrow (Wednesday) at the first major Australian-based swimming event of the year.

With water temperature hovering around 25 degrees, early morning conditions are expected to be perfect for the men’s 10km race which also includes Australian World Cup swimmers Robert Bonsall and Thomas Raymond.

In the women’s 10km open event, Madisyn Armstrong – sister to World Championship-bound Bailey – is part of the field that also includes New Zealand’s Abbey Smale and Japan’s Miku Kojima and Misa Okuzono.

The boys’ and girls’ 18-19 years 10km open water, and boys’ and girls’ 16-17 years 7.5km ocean swims are also part of Wednesday’s racing with selection for World Junior Championships on the line.

In all, the four days of swimming from January 24-27 will see more than 800 swimmers compete in the Championships and OceanSwim festival including eight international athletes from Japan, New Zealand, Seychelles, Italy and Sri Lanka.

For the second year running, the event blends high-performance racing with the community-focused ocean swim races on January 26, attracting elite athletes and hundreds of amateur swimming enthusiasts.

Various distances are on offer for the community swim, including 500m, 1.25km, 2.5km, 5km, 7.5km and 10km options, with registrations to be taken right up to race time via the Swimming Australia events page.

Spectators attending the Ocean Swim Festival will also be treated to a number of onshore activities including music and entertainment for kids, a night market and other activities.

The event is proudly supported by the Western Australian Government through Tourism WA’s Regional Events Program, funded by Royalties for Regions, and the City of Busselton.