Sudlow at the double as Albany Harbour Swim winner triumphs in Denmark's Southern Ocean Classic Mile as well

Adam Sudlow, fresh from his victory in the Albany Harbour Swim on Saturday, claimed top honours at Denmark’s Southern Ocean Classic Mile the following day. His debut 4km swim across the harbour from the Princess Royal Sailing Club to the Anzac Peace Park left him in sufficiently good shape to hold off his rivals on Sunday, with the top three athletes all again making the podium. Sudlow may have grabbed a second title but second and third swapped places, Andrew Donaldson overhauling Max Coten at the death to trade Saturday’s third for runner-up and relegate Coten to the last step on the podium. The first woman home was Rebekah Weller, the harbour swim’s first female last year. The race, a two-lap circuit off Ocean Beach, was back on the calendar after a two-year absence due to the rebuilding of the Denmark Surf Lifesaving Club and beach precinct. When it was last run, Coten was the winner clocking 19min. 25sec. for his second successive triumph. Sudlow’s win came in 19:29 with Donaldson and Coten neck-and-neck behind him until Donaldson caught a wave which gave him the edge over the previous champion. Donaldson clocked 20:17 for second with Coten timed at 20:24. Weller’s time was 21:46, almost a minute ahead of second-placed female Daisy Hewitt who finished in 22:32. The first Denmark swimmer to cross the line was Sam Williams in 27:48, which put him 37th overall. Lizzie von Perger, the first Denmark woman in 27:52, was the 14th woman and 38th overall but winner of the women’s 40-44 age group. Albany swimmer Coco Smargiassi, who was the second woman home in the harbour swim on Saturday, won her age group, while Beth Hearle and Sally Moir dead-heated in their 60-64 age group. Nicole Hodgson, from the race organising committee, said it had been marvellous to race again after a two-year hiatus with conditions ideal bar a slight shower of rain during the last part of the swim. “It was really good to showcase the redevelopment of Ocean Beach, and it was a wonderful venue for swimmers and spectators,” she said. “We thought it might take a while for people to come back to it but we had a record 165 swimmers so that obviously wasn’t the case.” The 165 participants included 30 who saw the sun was shining and registered on the day. There were 37 from Denmark, 11 from Albany and six from elsewhere in the Great Southern.