Rhys the Main Man After Open Water Crown

Western Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder Rhys Mainstone has claimed his maiden 10km open water national championship after the 19 year-old held off a challenge from defending champion and World Championship silver medallist Trent Grimsey.

Mainstone – who trains at the City of Perth Swimming Club with WAIS coach Matt Magee – has automatically booked his place on the Australian teams for this year’s Pan Pacific Championships and July’s World Championships in Roberval, Canada.

Mainstone produced a brilliant swim at Lake Nagambie, Victoria and produced a strong kick in the final 1500m to pull clear of David Browne in second and fellow youngster George O’Brien (third) to touch home in 1:53.54hours.

Post race, Mainstone set his sights on a bigger prize but admitted he was delighted to achieve such feats at his tender age.

“While it was great to win today, it’s a stepping stone to my ultimate goal which is the London 2012 Olympics and I am ticking off all the boxes faster then I had expected,” Mainstone said.

“I dug down really deep today and did a lot of work towards the end of the race and obviously it paid off.”

The win highlights a tremendous 12 month period for the Duncraig resident after he secured top ten finishes in two star-studded World Cup events in Sharjah (sixth) and Dubai (fourth) respectively.

Former champion Trent Grimsey was forced to settle for sixth place.