Callan Lötter swam through the weekend like a tide that refused to turn.
The 19-year-old Pretoria star delivered a commanding display at the Bombela Concession Company SA Open Water Championships at Marina Martinique near Jeffreys Bay, defending all three of her national titles and confirming her status as the leading force in South African women’s open water swimming.
Lötter completed a golden sweep of the 10km marathon swim, the 5km race and the 3km knockout event, gliding through the field with the calm assurance of a swimmer who understands every current in the water.
Her most emphatic victory came in the gruelling 10km race, where she was the only woman to break the two-hour barrier. Lötter touched the finish in 1:59:36, more than four minutes ahead of Hannah Neilson, who claimed second place in 2:03:54. Carli Antonopoulos secured the bronze medal in 2:04:51.
“It feels really good. I’m very proud of myself,” said Lötter.
“Last year I tried to stay with everyone and then take it out at the end. This year my training has been much better, so I decided to take it out from the beginning and try and hold on and build a gap.”
Her race unfolded like a steady rising swell. From the opening strokes she set the tempo, gradually widening the water between herself and the chasing pack.
Lötter returned the following day to claim the 3km knockout title, a tactical contest that tests both speed and endurance. The event begins with a 1.5km round before cutting the field to the top 20 swimmers. A 1km race follows for the top ten, with a final 500m sprint deciding the medals after a short ten-minute recovery.
With waves building across the course, Lötter approached the opening round like a measured warm-up before accelerating through the shorter distances.
“The race was really good, the conditions were very tough,” she said.
“The waves were picking up quite a lot at the end, so you had to work much harder to finish the race, but I’m happy with how it went.”
She sealed her hat-trick on Sunday in the 5km race, again holding off a determined challenge from Neilson. Lötter finished in 1:00:23, with Neilson closing in at 1:00:37 and Marony Jacobs completing the podium in 1:02:02.
“I was aware that Hannah was quite close to me on the first three laps and then I saw the rest of the pack was quite far behind,” Lötter said.
“So I tried to focus on my own race and see how far I could get ahead.”
While Lötter controlled the women’s events like a swimmer carried by a powerful current, the men’s races unfolded in turbulent fashion.
Henré Louw captured the 10km national title after a thrilling sprint finish that saw the leading trio surge toward the finish line like three waves crashing together.
Louw touched first in 1:54:46, one second ahead of Byron Kimber, while Connor Albertyn finished third in 1:54:55.
“It was definitely a tough race,” said Louw.
“The strategy was to sit back a bit this year and let the other guys do a little bit of work and then try my best at the back end of the race.”
The drama intensified during the final lap when Louw briefly lost ground.
“On the last lap I missed the buoy and got pushed out a bit, so I had to turn back and I was probably about 30 metres behind those guys,” he said.
“I had to dig deep trying to catch them on the last lap. When I got to the top buoy I tried to push as hard as possible to the finish.”
Albertyn later struck back in the 5km race after another fierce battle among the leading swimmers. He claimed victory in 57:26, edging Matthew Caldwell by two seconds while Kimber secured third place in 57:30.
“It was a very tough race. From the start to the finish it was full pace from everyone,” Albertyn said.
“I don’t think there was a moment when we were fully relaxed. We were constantly watching each other.”
The decisive move came late in the race.
“I saw a bit of a gap and I took it. I kept my head down and kept pushing. I didn’t want to look back. I focused on the finish and doing everything I could to secure the win, and I managed to do so.”
Earlier in the championships, Caldwell claimed victory in both the 3km knockout and the 3km race in 34:31. Leah Markgraaff secured the women’s 3km title in 37:25 and also won the 7.5km race in 1:33:49. Wian Bartleman captured the men’s junior 7.5km crown in 1:25:47.
Across three demanding days at Marina Martinique, Lötter stood tallest in the water. Like a swimmer carving a clean path through open sea, she left the rest of the field chasing her wake.
For full results: SA National Open Water Swimming Championships
