Kostich challenged by 18-year-old Diaz in Surf Fest Pier to Pier Swim, Spivey clocked, then clocks win
Alex Kostich wins his 10th Pier to Pier Swim. Photo
The greatest individual rivalry in the 50-year history of the International Surf Festival continued into its second decade Sunday morning in the Dwight Crum Pier to Pier Swim. And a potential new rivalry emerged.
For the 10th time in the past 16 years, Alex Kostich, 41, won the two mile race from theHermosa Beachto theManhattan Beachpier, in a time 39:12. Kostich has not finished worst than second in the 13 years he has entered the race. (He missed ’98, ’01, and 09).
“I never expect to win. I never think I’m winning, even if I am. It was just an all-out sprint from beginning to end. For me the race officially doesn’t start until I round theManhattanpier and I was third around the pier and I thought, ‘Well, I need to reel in these guys in front of me’. And then I found my own little body of water and I put my head down and didn’t really look,” said Kostich.
The only person to have beaten Kostich in the Pier to Pier is Los Angeles County Lifeguard Micah Carlson, who won the race in ’04, ’07 and ’08.
Jonathan Diaz, 18, charges to second place. Photo
But this year Carlson, 28, dropped to third place in 41:28. Edging him out for second was 2011 Redondo High grad Jonathan Diaz. The 18-year-old finished in 41:04. This past year, Diaz set his school’s record in the 500 freestyle and the 100 backstroke and butterfly. He also led the Sea Hawks to their first victory over Mira Costa in a long time.
Diaz attributed reaching second place to his girlfriend, who was his paddler for the race. He said she kept him on a straight course and gave him encouragement throughout the race.
“I got through because of her,” he said.
LA County Lifeguards Micah Carlson and Taylor Spivey go stroke for stoke after rounding the Manhattan pier. Photo
Another swimmer who showed promise of dominating the race in future years was Taylor Spivey, 20, ofManhattan Beach. The Los Angeles County Lifeguard and San Luis Obispo Cal Poly swimmer won the woman’s division and was fourth overall, just two minutes, 22 seconds behind Kostich.
Her time might have been faster if she hadn’t run into traffic rounding the Hermosa pier.
“I got sandwiched between two big guys,” said the five-foot-three Spivey. “We were elbowing one another and one of the guys apparently got fed up and basically tried to climb over me. He literally pushed me under and held my head down long enough for me to freak out a bit. I have no idea who it was. Everyone’s wearing goggles and caps.”
Spivey had to stop to adjust her goggles and cap and shove her dislodged timing chip down her suit. As a result she fell behind the lead pack and didn’t catch up to it until the second-to-last lifeguard tower before the pier, about half a mile from the finish. She was bleeding from scratches on her neck and back when she finished the race.
George Caras, 8, accepts the Youngest Swimmer Award from Gary Crum, son of the Dwight Crum Pier To Pier Swim namesake.
For the first time this year, an award was presented to the youngest swimmer to complete the Pier to Pier swim. The award went to George Caras, 9, a student at Grand View Elementary inManhattan Beachand a swimmer with the Manhattan Country Club. Caras finished in 1:26:48.
His time would have been faster, his dad Bill said, but his mother Christie made him wait on the beach until the pack rounded the pier.
“She didn’t want him to get trampled, so he was the last swimmer to reach the pier,” said his dad, who was waiting at the end of the pier on his paddleboard to escort his son. He said he got so worried when his son hadn’t shown up after 10 minutes that he asked the lifeguards to look for him.
From the back of the pack, Caras passed up nearly 100 swimmers to come in 857th out of 929 finishers.