SIXTEEN-year-old Alyssa George blitzed her competitors in the second annual Port to Pub Rottnest Channel Swim event on Saturday, taking out first prize as the first female solo swimmer across the line.
The St Hilda’s student completed her first solo crossing to Rottnest in a time of five hours and 51 minutes.
Alyssa said she proved that age was no barrier to success.
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READ NOW“Everyone wanted me to wait until I was older,” she said.
“Now I can say ‘I told you so’.
“I knew I could do it.”
Alyssa, of Attadale, is part of the Mosman Park school’s swim club and is a member of their open water national squad.
This year’s event saw over 900 competitors, including duos and teams, taking on the 19.75km challenge from Leighton Beach to Hotel Rottnest.
A team of six known as the ‘Dream Team’, which included former Olympian and restaurant owner Eamon Sullivan, clocked the fastest overall time of four hours and one minute, setting a new Port to Pub record.
It is the longest open water swim event in Australia and was designed to cater for increased demand for long distance swimming.