The Flowers One Mile Sea Swim once again proved to be a resounding success, bringing together more than 700 swimmers for a day of exciting open water competition and profound community spirit in the beautiful waters of the Cayman Islands.
This year’s event, in its 33rd edition, saw the highly anticipated return of Cayman’s Olympic brother duo, Brett and Shaune Fraser, alongside fellow local Olympians Andrew MacKay and Geoffrey Butler, and elite athlete Kerri Kanuga.
They were joined by an impressive roster of international Olympic swimmers, including Sharon van Rouwendaal, Conor Dwyer, Neil Walker, Darren Mew, and Roland Schoeman, adding to the competitive flair.
Starting at Royal Palms, the day was blessed with “amazing” conditions and “beautiful weather,” as described to the Compass by event organiser Dara Flowers Burke.
Frank E. Flowers Jr. noted the “very healthy turnout,” indicating a return to “pre-COVID level” participation, with the primary goal being to “maintain quality more than grow”.
A highlight for the Flowers family in this year’s event was the first-time participation of Dara’s son, which Flowers Jr. expressed excitement about.
“[It’s] very exciting to have three generations of Flowers doing the race, but we hope, again, that other families in Cayman can share that as well, so they’ll have three generations of their children being able to do this,” he said.
The atmosphere was vibrant, catering to both elite competitors and recreational swimmers enjoying the 75-minute time limit.
Brett Fraser, a repeat participant, expressed to the Compass why he keeps returning to the event.
“The Flowers family puts on, I think, the best event like this in the world. I just love the energy that surrounds the event [and] I love to see people who it’s a challenge for [come out and] accomplish what they thought they couldn’t,” he said.
First-time event participant, Michael Shawe, said it was a “really awesome” event and he’ll absolutely be returning next year.
“For someone who’s generally fit and active but hasn’t done a lot of swim training, it was nice to have the safety and support of the marshalls. [The event] felt well laid out,” he said.
For the third consecutive year, the event championed its ‘Swim Free’ initiative, a programme providing free swimming lessons to government primary school students from kindergarten through year two.
The programme aims to build water safety and confidence, teaching children to swim a minimum of 10 feet to potentially save lives.
“Every single registration dollar goes to charity … and I think this [programme] will become our flagship charity,” Flowers Burke said.
She says that through this event, they want to generationally change that every single Caymanian child learns how to swim, not just to become a great and accomplished swimmer but also for water safety purposes.
The top three overall and male category winners of the 2025 Flowers One Mile Sea Swim:
- Connor Macdonald: 18:38.08
- Dominic Hilton: 18:39.05
- Thomas Ferguson: 19:25.33
The top three female category winners:
- Sharon Van Rouwendall: 19:30.55
- Harper Barrowman: 20:27.08
- Sarah Sensenbrenner: 21:00.33
With enthusiastic participants, dedicated organisers, and a commitment to giving back through ‘Swim Free’, the Flowers One Mile Sea Swim continues to solidify its reputation as a world-class open water event and a cherished Caymanian tradition.
For the full results, visit flowersseaswim.com/results.
