No shortage of awesome stories at Skaha Lake Ultra Swim

At six and a half feet tall and 280 lbs, Trinidad's William Carr is a very large man. And Sunday morning, he did what he likes to do best. He swam.

As a competitor in Sunday's Skaha Lake Ultra Swim -- an event that hasn’t been run since 2019 (thanks again, pandemic) -- he navigated 11.8 grueling kilometers to be exact, essentially the length of Skaha Lake.

That he finished 11th on the day and 3rd in his 40-49 age division is a solid result for anyone, never mind a guy of his awe-inspiring dimensions.

That it was his fifth ultra-swim in the past two weeks at various spots around the globe makes the feat that much more remarkable.

Carr did a 5k and a 10k in Barbados a couple weeks ago, a "high-altitude" event in Columbia earlier in the week, and then Peachland's Rattlesnake Island Swim Saturday -- just one day before he jumped in Skaha Lake with 76 other competitors.

"I swim every day," he said when it was over. "I swim in the ocean four days a week, and three days a week in the pool. I average about 60 kilometers a week.

"But I did find the water here cold. It was freezing for me today. This is the first time I've ever used a wet suit."

At the end of September, Carr will attempt something else he says he's never done before -- a nonstop swim all the way from Tobago to Trinidad.

"It's 45 kilometers," he said. "It's been attempted three times but never accomplished. The water is quite rough."

It's also filled with jellyfish…and sharks. Carr said he's not afraid of the latter ("They're just inquisitive"). Instead, it's the jellyfish that keep him awake at night.

Winning the 2022 edition of the Ultra Swim with a time of 2:37:14, two minutes and eight seconds ahead of the runner-up, was Quinnlan Bymoen of Calgary. At just 17 years of age, Bymoen continues a tradition established in recent years -- domination by females under the age of 20.

In 2017 and 2019 it was Salmon Arm's Chantal Jeffrey. This year it was Bymoen. That's three of the last four victories to teen girls.

"This is the first ultra swim event I've done," said a happy Bymoen afterward. "I typically do the 800 and 1500, and the longest open water I've done is four kilometers. So this is basically triple."

The road from Calgary to Skaha Lake was in fact a last-minute detour. Bymoen, who's been swimming competitively since she was six, initially wanted to do Christina Lake's 18-kilometer "Big Effort Swim" on Aug. 20, but was persuaded by her mom to try something a bit more manageable first.

But now with the Skaha victory in her pocket, it's all systems go for Christina Lake two weekends from now.

"Water and swimming is all I can remember," she said. "All my family vacations were always in the water, from a young age. And it stuck."

Bymoen hopes to return to defend her title in 2023.

Two minutes and change behind Bymoen in second place was another Albertan, Tanner Potaka of Okotoks.

Like Bymoen, 22-year-old Potaka didn't have much open-water experience prior to Sunday's event. The longest swim he'd ever attempted was just 1500 meters.

"I did a lot of training so I felt pretty prepared," he said afterward. "I used to be a competitive swimmer but I retired from varsity swimming two years ago. And I've been out of the pool for two years, so I thought I might as well hop back in and start training."

Finishing a bit further back on the stat sheet but stirring up some of the loudest cheers of the day at the finish line -- and establishing a record in the process -- was Port Coquitlam's Aldert Dykstra.

Dykstra would complete the event with a time of 4:34:23, good enough for 63rd place overall. But he was first with a bullet in his division.

At 82 years old, Dykstra was the first entrant ever in the 80 to 89 age bracket. But not just an entrant. Dykstra was a finisher too, and he was justifiably happy afterward.

"I just want to publicize that when you're over 80, you're not always in a wheelchair," he said when it was over, adding that his 4:18 time when he was a young lad of 79 was "much better."

"I've done lots competitions in the past few years," he said. "I've been to two world championships -- one in Montreal, one in Budapest. I was last to middling in both, but it was good to be in there at all."

Dykstra's not sure about returning for 2023, saying, "This year's race was a hard one."

For more on the Skaha Lake Ultra Swim, which will reappear on Aug. 6, 2023, go to the website here.