The 14th Annual RCP Tiburon Mile swim race, starting at Ayala Cove on Angel Island and finishing at Sam’s Restaurant in Tiburon, was held on September 29. The race stretches for one nautical mile, about 2,025 yards. Among the approximately 700 swimmers, there were many Tam students and alumni.
Tam junior Annapurna Holzapple, who placed fourth in the women’s wetsuit division for ages 13-99. This does not include swimmers without a wetsuit, or elite (professional) swimmers who leave the beach earlier to compete for first place. “I was totally shocked, to be completely honest,” Holzapple said. “This year I was registered as number 529, and after waiting on the beach never thought I could place in such a competitive race.”
Holtzapple started swimming the Tiburon Mile races five years ago. “I first started swimming it when I was 12 years old. My dad had done it a couple times before, and I had always wanted to do it,” Holtzapple said. This year, Holtzapple described the conditions as good, but cold (the water was 62 degrees Fahrenheit). “There was a bit of breeze which created some chop and swell, and there was a flood tide over Raccoon Strait,” she said.
According to Holtzapple, the start of the race always comes with a scuffle to get out of Ayala Cove. “My dad and I always wait on the beach for two minutes, and then follow the group,” she said. “The most difficult part of the race is the first 200-ish yards getting out of Ayala Cove, when you are first adjusting to the water and the disorienting feeling of not being able to see.”
Brigitte Winkler, (class of 2013) who now attends UCLA as a freshman, competed as an elite swimmer in this year’s Tiburon Mile. “The swim was great,” Winkler said. “I have never formally competed in this event but I have done lots of swimming on my own in Raccoon Strait.”
As an elite swimmer, Winkler was in the running for the $10,000 first place prize. “I was just out there to have fun and represent UCLA,” she said. “I was also swimming with North Bay Aquatics, my high school club team, and Team Theo.” Team Theo is a fundraising team started by North Bay to raise money for Theo St. Francis, who an athlete, Marin Academy alumni, and current student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). St. Francis broke his back at a school beach activity and currently has minimal use of his limbs. “Team Theo is a way to support Theo financially and emotionally,” Winkler said.
Winkler was pleased with her performance in the race despite the fact that the Tiburon Mile is very different from her usual competitions. “I am usually a breaststroker or a sprint freestyler so this race is long for me, not to mention cold,” she said, “I did not wear a wetsuit, just a Lazer race suit.”
The elite category of the race also attracts international competitors, this year including male winner Mateusz Sawrymowicz of Poland. The women’s champion was Ashley Twitchell, a California native who is a member of the United States’ National Open Water Swimming Team. Twitchell medaled in the World Swimming Championships in 2011.
Tiburon Mile founder, Bob Placak, says that he will continue to maintain the event legacy for years to come.