Hayden and Sash Hemmens top seventh “Swim the Avenues”

by Garth Meyer

The eighth-year, seventh-running of “Swim the Avenues” took place Sunday, Sept. 7, off of Redondo Beach, with 519 participants, the winners led by a husband and wife duo.

Rick Crump, race director, is also the varsity swim coach at RUHS, and a P.E. teacher at Adams Middle School – his young students do not have to run the mile this week if they did “Swim the Avenues.” 

Hayden Hemmens, 28, of Costa Mesa, finished first in the 1.2-Mile Traditional swim (no wetsuit), with a time of 25:07. His wife, Sash Hemmens, also 28, led the female results, finishing in 26:25.

In the 1.2 Mile Wetsuit, Deepak Nagendra, 40, of Manhattan Beach, finished in 30:32. The top female was Sasha Speer, 43, of Los Angeles, with a time of 34:11.

For the Half-Mile Traditional, Jio Aono, 11, Irvine, swam a 12:38. Top female was Hailey Kuo, 13, of Manhattan Beach (14:01).

In the Half-Mile Wetsuit, Guy Austin, 68, of Van Nuys led with a time of 15:05, and Ellie Brisbin, 43, of Redondo Beach, finished in 16:46 for the women. ER