Callebaut wins 100th edition of Flannagan Cup

Will Johnston

Photo: Flannagan Cup winner Daniel Callebaut with sponsor Neale Parkinson of Bayleys Taranaki. Photo by: John Velvin

Daniel Callebaut’s Flannagan Cup win on Monday was significant for many reasons.

Not only did the 16-year-old from Francis Douglas Memorial College beat his brother Chris, he was also the 100^th winner of the traditional open water race at Port Taranaki.

The race has been running since 1916 and while Covid and the war prevented it from going ahead a few times, this year’s event went off without a hitch.  

Daniel finished the 3.6-kilometre course with a time of 45:37.50, with Chris, 14, second just under a minute behind at 46:30.89.

“I love racing my brother because it’s almost ok to lose in the best way possible,” he said.

“We push each other really well and [we] don’t get a lot of chances to race each other because we’re in different age groups.”

Daniel admitted there was a lot of “smack” talked before the race and had the attitude of whoever won, won.

The pair’s father Gerry also swam in the event.

Daniel didn’t know he was the 100^th winner, making it more special.

After overnight rain, the weather improved as the morning went on. By 9am, it was perfect for swimming.

He said the venue and conditions couldn’t have been better.

“I love that course. Water was warm, sun was out, little chop, it was really nice.”

Daniel said he wanted to go out and win but at the same time wasn’t aiming for any times.

It was a nice end, given he came second to Olympic swimmer Zac Reid in 2021.

It’s a big year coming up for Daniel, who will compete in the national surf lifesaving championships in March in Christchurch with his club East End and the swimming nationals in April.

Palmerston North’s Madison Keightley came first in the women’s race with a time of 52:59.36. New Plymouth’s Georgia Cahill was second with 59:08.62.

Race director Iain McCallum was pleased the weather improved, which helped bulk the entries.

While most of the competitors were from Taranaki, the event attracted several swimmers from Nelson, Hawke’s Bay and Palmerston North.

He believes the event has firmly cemented itself into the swimming calendar but is always keen to improve it.

“The plan works at the moment we like to try a few more things in the next few years, maybe even try and bring it into one of the bigger series so we can attract a lot more out-of-towers.”