Appalling weather forced dozens of swimmers to withdraw from the Open Water Bermuda National Championships at Clearwater Beach on Sunday.

Thunderstorms at the start resulted in more than half the field failing to take up their entry, with just 48 of 121 registered swimmers starting and most of the competitors heading back home.

Craig Munden claimed victory in the 5km main event, completing the 5km in 1hr 14 min 39 sec, a fair bit slower than the 1:10:25 he recorded last year. Nina Coetzer was second in 1:18:16, while Noah Fulton finished third in 1:24:00.

The 29-year-old Munden was delighted to secure his third national title in difficult circumstances.

“I’m very pleased to get the win,” Munden told The Royal Gazette.

“The conditions out there were really tough. There were some pretty big waves in the corners, there was lightning, thunder and rain.

“The visibility wasn’t very good, but it was just more a battle of the conditions than anything else. I was just trying to keep relaxed and not fight the water too much.

“When we started, you couldn’t even see the buoy at the other end because visibility was just so bad. It was just a case of swimming a straight line and it was the same race conditions for everybody, so we were trying to stay focused.

“The level of open water swimming is very strong in Bermuda. It was nice to race with Nina because I train with her almost every day.

“I feel like an old man with all the young swimmers coming up. They’re getting better every year, so I have no doubt that the gap will get smaller and they’ll get closer.”

Coetzer, the female champion two years ago before she missed the race in 2025, spoke of how she almost withdrew from the competition due to visibility issues.

“I didn’t expect us to race today in these conditions,” she said.

“Just before we started, it calmed down and then things were looking good, so I had high hopes. Then as we started, the heavens opened again and I just couldn’t see anything.

I had no idea where we were going. When I got about halfway through the first lap, I was definitely considering getting out at that point, but then I decided OK, I’ll just put my head down.

“It seemed like no one else was stopping, so I felt there would be safety in numbers. As we carried on the second lap, it started to clear the range, so I could finally start sighting the buoys a bit quicker.

“I had a few swimmers sitting with me, so that was nice motivation as well. It was around that time when the mile swimmers also started, which definitely helped with the motivation.

“I just decided to give it my all in the last lap, try to do as hard as possible. I really just wanted to finish and it wasn’t about having a good time, but more about getting some good practice for Round the Sound.”

Fulton, who came into the race with a target to finish in the top two, was content with third given the conditions.

“I was kind of hoping for second position because I didn’t know much about Nina,” the 15-year-old said.

“But I’m pretty happy with the overall result. I was scared a bit of the conditions but I’ve swam in lightning before, it’s just so hard because once you go out, the waves are just smacking you.

“I was going out pretty well at first and I was pulling a lot of water, but I was moving a lot slower than Nina, who I was with.

“Every time I tried to match her pace, I’d be pulling more water than her. I’d be going faster, but I’d be way more tired and she would just be moving really quickly with her arms.”

Taylor White, the second female across the line, used the event as a way of rekindling her love for swimming.

“I swam with my friend Scott Oliver and we had a great time even though the conditions weren’t awesome,” the Bentley University graduate said.

“I’ve always been a pool swimmer my whole life and I graduated college in May. I gave up swimming for a while, so this is my way of getting back into it and finding the fun again.

“I haven’t done this event since I was probably 14. Swimming with people like Scott Oliver, Craig Munden and Nina Coetzer made it fun for me.”

Tyler Butterfield clocked 24:20 to finish third in the 1.5km race, which was won by Ethan Smith in 23:40, with Gianluca Bortoli second in 23:41. Initially, the Colorado-based former Olympian had signed up for the 5km but decided to swim the shorter distance with his son Walker.

“I started with the 1,500 group because my son was doing that,” Butterfield said.

“I was third in that race as the two young boys got me. They had a battle going on so I stayed behind the two of them, but it’s great to see the young children push so hard because that was a hard mile race. I got in ahead of my son, so I got bragging rights at the dinner table.

“It’s amazing to be back in Bermuda for a couple of days. It was my dad’s 76th birthday on Tuesday, so I decided to surprise him by bringing my son and doing a swim event.

“It was really sad the weather wasn’t the best, but thanks to Mike Cash and Nick Strong for organising all the open water events.”

Jones, the runner-up in the 5km last year, won the 400 metres. The 16-year-old entered the shorter distance as part of mentoring young swimmers from Sharks Swim Club, but most of them did not compete due to the weather.

“Originally, I signed up to swim with the younger group of Sharks programme, the puppies, as we call them,” Jones said.

“But sadly, since the weather wasn’t the best, a lot of them went home, so I swam fast and then won the event.

“I then went back for the other three puppies, Conrad, Neo and Violet. Shout out to them, I’m really proud of them for coming out in such bad weather and performing really well.

“We are really proud of the whole Sharks community as a whole. We had a lot of turnout and some great results.

“Having Noah win the 18 and under for the 5K was amazing. We had Ethan Smith winning the 1,500m with Luca Bortoli coming second as well.

“I’m really looking forward to future open water events so we can dominate and show them how good we are.”