KOHALA COAST — In choppy waters with bright blue skies overhead, Micah Ginoza and Grace Monahan zoomed to the front of the pack Saturday morning at the Hapuna Rough Water Swim.
Ginoza clocked a time of 21 minutes and 32 seconds for top overall honors on the men’s side, while Monahan was the fastest female with a time of 22:02.
Ginoza’s finish was almost a full minute faster than the top time a year ago — which in the swimming world is a huge gap.
Race organizer Mark Noetzel joked at the prerace gathering that the race measured a “Hapuna Mile.” Depending on where the sometimes unpredictable buoys swayed, it could have been more or less than the 1-mile advertised distance.
“If it’s long that benefits you,” he said to the more than 250 participants. “It means a better workout.”
James Lyon came out of the water with Ginoza, but settled for second on the run up the beach, finishing two seconds behind in second.
Kanoa Birdsall rounded out the men’s podium, finishing third with a time of 21:57.
Noe Vargas, who took home the crown at the Cinco de Mayo Splash last month, was the second overall female (22:48). Paulina Ruelas was third at 23:07.
The Hapuna Swim — which is hosted by Academy Swim Club — is the second stop on the Big Island’s Triple Crown circuit. The Cinco Splash kicked things off and the 1.2-mile Kings’ Swim on July 4 will finish things off.
After the conclusion of the King’s Swim, awards will be handed out to the top male and female swimmers with the lowest cumulative time between all three events.
Vargas, with a first and second place finish to her name, is currently in first on the women’s side with a cumulative time of 46:33 in the two races.
Brock Imonen won the Cinco race, but was not in the field at Hapuna, eliminating him from contention for the Triple Crown. Aiden Ankrum (44:02) is in the lead on the men’s side with a slight lead over Birdsall, who sits at 44:17 after his bronze finish at Hapuna. However, plenty of swimmers are still in contention.
Ankrum finished off the podium, but barely. He was just five seconds behind Birdsall at Hapuna.
The all-heart award went to Peaman Peaman, who completed the swim and then crutched his way up the beach in 26:19. The Kona legend won his age group with a broken leg and estimated that this was his 37th time doing the event. There have been 42 editions of the swim in all.