VORGEE MILLION METRES MILESTONE
KENT NELSON – FIVE MILLION METRES
In 2004, Kent Nelson set himself a goal to celebrate his 40th birthday - swimming to Rottnest Island.
With the goal set, Kent knew that he had to join a swimming squad to get his technique right and challenge himself with training, and so he registered with Adelaide Masters.
On joining Adelaide Masters, Kent discovered the Vorgee Million Metres Program offered by Masters Swimming Australia. As a stats nerd, Kent was already collecting all his swimming data, from the type of stroke to the distance and decided that the program was a perfect outlet for him.
In 2006, Kent reached his first Vorgee Million Metres Milestone, having swum one million metres. In May 2014, his tenth year as an MSA member, Kent reached five million metres. As he had done in his training for the Rottnest Island Swim ten years earlier, the program was used to help Kent prepare for the English Channel Swim, with the last two million metres occurring in under two years through training.
When asked, the self-proclaimed stats nerd was able to remember what training he had used to complete his five million metres. “3.4million was squad training, 1.4million was open water and the rest myself,” he reminisced, “I can break it down by years, months, training weeks and days - sad isn’t it!”
While Kent is already underway for his seven million metres, with 5.62M already recorded, he is proud of his latest milestone, as it is an achievement which symbolizes his commitment to training for numerous years. Kent proudly wears his five million metres shirt and even packed it on his trip to England and France this year, where he and his girlfriend Leanne Markey both completed solo swims of the English Channel in the exact same time of 13hours 42minutes two weeks apart.
Congratulations to Kent for his dedication and achievements. We look forward to recognizing your seven million metres milestone.
A 10 Million Metres photo:
Adelaide Masters Kent Nelson and Noarlunga Masters Leanne Markey, who have both achieved five million metres milestones in England