06/06/2026
RACE REPORT
Dolphins celebrate Tayla's triple success at World Ocean Day Swim
DURBAN – With her third victory in three years, Tayla Bruce was the champion of the 5km Breathe World Ocean Day Swim sponsored by FNB in Durban on Saturday, but ocean conservation was the big winner with a record entry for the annual event.
19-year-old Hillcrest student Bruce claimed her third title in a row when she convincingly beat Sarah Ferguson, the event organiser and the driving force behind the annual swim – but Ferguson was also a winner with almost 500 entries for the annual fund-raiser for her non-proft, Breathe Conservation.
Carina Hambloch finished third in the women's race as swimmers revelled in ideal, calm and warm conditions, which included some of the leaders being treated to some time swimming with dolphins.
In the men's race 15-year-old Westville schoolboy Nathan Muller cruised to a six-minute victory over Riley Naidoo with Mark Duncan claiming the third step of the podium.
While the site of dolphins was interpreted by some as the mammals saying "Thank you for helping save our environment," Bruce was initially a little less enthusiastic about her fellow swimmers.
"I passed some dolphins which was really cool, but a bit scary at first," said Bruce after her victory. "I just came to a stop because I did not know what to do.
"But the conditions were really good. Starting and going out was very nice, but coming back was a little choppy, so I had to pick up my stroke rate a little to adapt to the conditions.
"I like doing this race every year. It is for a really good cause because sometimes you are swimming between bottles and plastic and we need to change that. Today I was swimming with fish and dolphin and they are living in that all the time, so swimming for cleaner oceans is brilliant."
Muller had a slightly less happy encounter with the local "wildlife".
"They were very good conditions, with a bit of a current on the way back," said the schoolboy who was swimming the 5km event for the first time. "Out of the gates I think I got stung by a bluebottle or something, but you just have to carry on."
Ferguson was not disappointed with her second position and was very happy with the entries for a cause that is close to her heart.
"The conditions were amazing with a nice swell and wave going out, and then calm, flat warm, warm, warm water – and lots of fish, and I heard some dolphin at one point, so it was a beautiful day," said the record-breaking ulltra-distance swimmer.
"I am really really stoked because we got almost 500 entries. This event is to celebrate World Ocean Day which is an annual event on June 8 every year and we try and hold this as close to that date as possible.
"It is to celebrate our oceans and at the same time to highlight the need to protect them, because we need the ocean to breathe – so it is really to highlight that and to have fun and do it for a good cause.
"The funds go toward our environment education programme in rural schools, where we are teaching over 1 000 kids, so today will have really helped with that."
Selected Results
5km
Male
1 Nathan Muller 0:57:31
2 Riley Naidoo 1:03:23
3 Mark Duncan 1:06:40
4 Cliff Lyne 1:06:41
5 John Glover 1:08:29
Female
1 Tayla Bruce 1:00:09
2 Sarah Ferguson 1:06:34
3 Carina Hambloch 1:08:20
4 Jenna-Mae Lally 1:08:21
5 Marcelle Stiemens 1:08:31
3.2km
Male
1 Kadin Sharp 0:47:14
2 Peter Koegelenberg 0:51:19
3 Kristiaan Van Reenen 0:51:20
4 Mohau Sikhosana 0:52:49
5 Dandre Pretorius 0:53:31
Female
1 Kailey Joubert 0:45:58
2 Abigale Meineke 0:48:40
3 Talitha Schuch 0:50:58
4 Simone Webb 0:53:05
5 Rene Sauerman 0:53:10
1.6km
Male
1 Daniel Moynihan 0:17:55
2 Jack Spence 0:18:57
3 Ethan Hambloch 0:19:58
4 Dylan Allan 0:21:33
5 Kye Smith 0:21:37
Female
1 Lucy Harker 0:26:05
2 Courtney Grant 0:27:17
3 Kristen Burt 0:27:19
4 Barbara Bowley 0:27:36
5 Taneal O'Sullivan 0:27:46
800m
Male
1 Ben Tozer 0:13:35
2 Kai Marks 0:13:36
3 Wayne Jeffers 0:16:40
4 Leonardo Schramm 0:16:51
5 Neil Kuppusamy 0:16:59
Female
Pos Name Time
1 Shayla Harvey 0:15:11
2 Alexandra Lott 0:15:15
3 Emma Christianson 0:15:55
4 Zuwena Khamanga 0:16:28
5 Elah-Mae Iris Budram 0:16:58
ENDS
