U.S. swimmer wins Pirates Week 5K swim

By Cayman Sports Buzz
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: 17 November 2016

Emily Brunemann plans to return for the Flowers Sea Swim next year.

American swimmer Emily Brunemann enjoyed a nice swim along Seven Mile Beach Monday morning (14, November, 2016) as she easily won the 36^th Annual Pirates Week 5K Sea Swim.

“I couldn’t have asked for better conditions,” Brunemann said after finishing the course in just about an hour (1:00.35). “I saw stingrays and fish. The course was flat and gorgeous.”

Brunemann, 30, was back on island for the event organised by the Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA) before retiring from competitive swimming. She took part in the Flowers Sea Swim earlier this year, in which she was the first female finisher in the 10K event, as well as in the one-mile sea swim.

“It’s a wonderful way to go out. I’ll be back for the Flowers Sea Swim but maybe not quite as competitive as I have been. This was a phenomenal race to be a part of,” she told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

More than 40 swimmers set off for the early morning swim

Trailing her to the finish of the three-lap course was John Bodden of Stingray Swim Club in 1:03.55. “I was trying to catch Emily for the first lap. She was out ahead of me and I tried really hard to catch up to her and her draft but after the second lap, I couldn’t keep up with her,” the 16 year-old said.

The 2016 CARIFTA open water gold medallist has done well in sea swims since the season started after the summer. He won both the Foster’s Food Fair 800m and the CUC 800m sea swims in recent weeks.

“This 5K was a really good measuring point for how fast I can go and how I feel doing the 5K. I think it’s really good right now,” Bodden said.

Top 2: Emily Brunemann and John Bodden.

Alex McCallum (1:06.28), Liam Henry (1:06.29) and Jonathan Key (1:06.53) rounded out the top five. Ria Plunkett, 7^th overall, was the first female other than the US national swimmer to finish.

It was an end to a busy weekend for most of the younger swimmers, who also competed in the Mike Lockwood Memorial Swim Meet. “It’s a bit tiring but as a swimmer you learn to push past that pain and do the best you can,” Bodden said.