Australind teen has podium finishes in Busso and Rotto swimming events

Australind teenager and rising star Kyle Lee has pocketed two podium finishes in open water swimming events this month. Lee went back-to-back in this year’s Busselton Jetty Swim and also finished third in the gruelling 19.7km Rottnest Channel Swim at the weekend. The 18-year-old, pictured, managed to break the Busselton record — making him the fastest person in history to complete the 3.6km race. Lee clocked in at 39min. 24sec., shaving a sweet 17 seconds off his 2020 time. He was neck-and-neck with his former Bunbury Swimming Club teammate Kaiden Richings until the halfway mark, but managed to break away to win by just over a second. “When I got out of the water, I could hear everyone cheering — I wasn’t too sure what time it was, but when I looked up at the clock I was pretty happy,” he said. “The conditions were beautiful, no stingers or sharks, but I did see a few fish.” He took home $1500 for breaking the record and an extra $300 for coming first. However, his success did not stop there. Lee finished third in the Rottnest Channel Swim with an impressive time of 4hr.11min. The teenager also finished third in last year’s Rottnest race — behind rival Lars Bottelier. The Dutch swimmer got his revenge in Rottnest after he was pipped at the post by Lee in last year’s Busselton Jetty swim. “Obviously he couldn’t be here this year because of the border restrictions, but I’ve spoken to him,” Lee said. “He’s doing very well. He’s on the Netherlands swim team now.”