LIKE many West Australians, Churchlands teenager Jessica Murray often visits the beach for a swim on a hot summer’s day.
However, what separates the 15-year-old from most casual beachgoers is her ability to negotiate a 10km gruelling ocean course – and do it better than anyone else her age.
Last week, Jessica won her fourth Open Water Series event of the summer after blitzing the competition in the 15-and-under division at Sorrento Beach.
The victory was made even more impressive by the fact that the Churchlands Senior High School student was the third-placed female swimmer across all ages.
“I was really happy with that swim – I was able to drop about 15 minutes off my previous personal best, so I’m thrilled with that result,” she said.
The talented youngster said she attributed her rapid improvement to joining the Barracudas Swim Club and an increased training workload.
“Last season I was struggling to find my feet a bit, but this season I feel I’ve improved everything,” she said. “I’ve definitely done a lot more work, and the intensity of my training has gone up – I’ve started doing pilates and building up my general fitness.
“Changing clubs and having Pauline Pratt as my coach has helped a lot too, because I feel we’re on the same level and I can discuss a lot of things about my performance with her.”
Jessica said she enjoyed the “enormous challenge” that open water swimming provided, with athletes having to brave the elements including large waves and strong winds.
“It’s completely different to pool swimming, because it’s not a controlled environment and there are definitely no lane ropes,” she said.
“You’re out there on your own and you’ve got to fight through it, no matter how hard it is on the day.”
Jessica will head to Victoria’s Lake Nagambie later this month to compete in the National Open Water Swimming Championships.