Daisy Hatfield is looking forward to finally completing the Magnetic Island to Townsville Swim this Sunday July 30, the longest open water swim in Northern Australia.
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Putting in the hard yards at Splashez Aquatics Centre, Daisy has been training four times a week in the heated olympic pool.
The swim comes a few weeks before her marriage to Robbie Katter in September.
The former journalist and Communications Officer for Mount Isa Centre for Rural and Remote Health (MICRRH) first trained for the swim in 2015 while working for WIN News in Townsville.
A doubtful co-worker challenged her to a $100 bet, which nobody won – for the first time in 60 years, the race was cancelled due to too many crocodiles in the water.
“I was a bit devastated, then it came up again this year and I thought, why not.”
“Hopefully I won’t get eaten by a crocodile a few weeks out from my wedding.
“If I make it back to the beach I’ll be pretty happy,” Daisy laughed.
According to her journo pal, the $100 bet still stands.
Leading up to the decision to register, Daisy said she hadn’t been doing much swimming or exercise, but she has since been training three or four days a week.
“It’s been really good training at the town pool. I didn’t know it was heated, I think this is the first year they’ve had heaters. so it’s been amazing. That's a big attribute that Mount Isa’s now got.”
“I’m by no means going to be one of the fastest there at all, I’m probably going to be the slowest!
In the lead up to the event, organisers monitor the number of crocodiles and make a call on whether it is safe to race.
Until 2008, the Magnetic Island to Townsville open water swim was the only open water race in which still uses shark cages.
