Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Cherelle Osteringer, a 23-year-old student at the University of Hawaii originally from Switzerland, held off a trio of 50ish veteran men at the 33rd Possibly Annual Hawaiian Christmas Looong Distance Invitational Rough-H2O Swim.

The 7 km out-and-back course along the outside surf in Waikiki Beach on Oahu goes over coral reefs and is notoriously tough for swimmers to be able to hold a straight line along the course without intermediate buoys.

But the young Osteringer [shown above finishing in 1:30:43] was finally able to pull away from 52-year-old John de Mestre from Australia [1:33:01, shown above], 57-year-old multi-time winner Rick Heltzel from Hawaii [1:39:29], and 56-year-old Stefan Reinke from Hawaii [1:42:37].

The invitation-only swim brought out all kinds of ocean swimmers from 18 to 80. Nicholas Pederson (18) finished in 1:48:37 while ocean veteran Vernon Knight (80) finished in 3:03:15.

Race founder and organizer Jim Anderson, who was recently inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, explains the course, “While this swim is listed as a 7 km course, that is only for the exceptional swimmer who swims in a straight line. Real world distance can be substantially greater than 7 km depending upon conditions and navigational ability. Navigation is a skill that plays an important role in this race. We stress that when one swims in this event, you are not close to shore and that you are truly communing with Mother Nature who can be very unforgiving.”

Overall Male Results:
1. John de Mestre (52) 1:33:01
2. Rick Heltzel (57) 1:39:29
3. Stefan Reinke (56) 1:42:37

24 & Under:
* Nicholas Pederson (18) 1:48:37
* Christopher Ma (21) 2:12:21
25-29:
* Rafael Hidalgo (29) 1:48:55
* Michael Kosiorek (26) 2:02:53
* Anson Chu (28) 2:10:49
* Kaiana Tirrell (28) 2:58:39
30-34:
* Austin Lau (30) 1:51:38
* Rhett Soltas (31) 2:04:40
35-39:
* Wade Garlin (37) 2:22:40
* Philip Mlynarski (39) 2:24:17
40-44:
* Steven Minaglia (41) 1:48:15
45-49:
* Joe Marenda (48) 2:07:25
50-54:
* John de Mestre (52) 1:33:01
* Joe Lileikis (51) 1:51:07
* Charles Kim (54) 2:17:12
55-59:
* Rick Heltzel (57) 1:39:29
* Stefan Reinke (56) 1:42:37
* Mark Heckman (59) 2:02:30
* Mark Richards (58) 2:23:30
60-64:
* Greg Gerber (62) 2:04:41
* Steve Halsey (60) 2:12:51
* Gary Gray (62) 2:21:09
65-69:
* Pat Dixon (65) 2:01:55
* Bruce Sloan (66) 2:02:16
70-74:
* Uli Klinke (70) 2:03:20
80-84:
* Vernon Knight (80) 3:03:15

Overall Female Results:
1. Cherelle Osteringer (23) 1:30:43
2. Elizabeth Wood (33) 1:40:45
3. Chelsea Haung (26) 1:43:52

24 & Under:
* Cherelle Osteringer (23) 1:30:43
* Rachael Randall (22) 1:47:07
* Hannah Vernon (24) 2:01:29
25-29
* Chelsea Haung (26)1:43:52
* Liz Hunter (28) 1:49:43
* Kimberly Shadwick (25) 1:53:38
* Joanna McFarland (25) 2:41:29
30-34:
* Elizabeth Wood (33) 1:40:45
* Margaret Campbell (34) 2:40:16
35-39:
* Jessica Davis (39) 2:18:58
* Marilyn Chychota (37) 2:33:20
40-44:
* Miki David (44) 1:44:06
* Michelle Simmons (40) 1:57:20
45-49:
* Debi Merwick (46) 2:11:45
50-54:
* Denise Webb (53) 2:15:55
55-59:
* Laurie Foster (58) 2:13:50
* Diane Corn (55) 2:16:21
60-64:
* Valisa Saunders (60) 2:42:01

Photos of the event are here. For more information on the event, visit here.

Copyright © 2014 by World Open Water Swimming Association