Jeanette Hardwich Brits hails from East London, South Africa, where she attended Clarendon School for Girls. She swam with coach Doug Skinner (father of world record holder Jonty Skinner) at the Penguins SC, and competed at the South African swimming championships from 1974 to 1980. She won Springbok colours every year between 1976 and 1980, winning both freestyle and butterfly events.  

In 2026, Jeanette Brits is an internationally acclaimed master's and open-water swimmer from Australia (originally from South Africa), not the United States. She competes in the Women's 65–69 age category for the Manly Masters Swimming Club and is renowned for breaking multiple World Masters Records across various distances.

Brits took up competitive swimming as a teenager and returned to the sport later in life, quickly dominating the masters and ocean swimming circuits. She trains daily at Sydney’s Andrew Boy Charlton Pool and in the surf at Manly Beach.

Her recent achievements in the pool and open water include:

• World Masters Records (2026): At the Australian Masters Swimming Association (MSA) National Championships in Brisbane, she provisionally broke four World Records in the 65–69 age group, setting times of 2:20.35 in the 200m Freestyle, 4:55.87 in the 400m Freestyle, and 9:56.21 in the 800m Freestyle. 
• World Aquatics Championship (2025): She won the Women’s 60–64 Open Water 3km event in Singapore. 
• Ocean Swims: She frequently outperforms significantly younger competitors, including taking the fastest time in her age category and out-swimming the elite female division at the Big Swim (Palm Beach to Whale Beach)

On 5 September 2022, she finished 8th in the 3.86 km Waikiki Roughwater Swim on Oahu, Hawaii. 

In the 2025 Cole Classic swim, Jeanette Brits upset 5-time Cole Classic winner Tayla Martin and won in 1:03:32. She also finished second in the 2 km, finishing behind Jana Kowalski. 

2024 Swimmer of the Meet - Female

The Vorgee female Swimmer of the Meet Trophy is awarded to the swimmer with the highest points at the conclusion of the National Championships

•  2024 Jeanette Brits (Manly Masters)
• https://mastersswimming.org.au/about/msa-awards/ 

Jen Brits – A Husband’s Perspective

The Quiet Years

Jen must be the most humble, considerate, disciplined, and giving person I know. In the years after her early retirement from competitive swimming she switched her focus to supporting her family and neglected her own swimming aspirations. Over the past 45 or so years she had a successful career as a Learning Support Coordinator and Educator, supported yours truly’s waterpolo career, raised two beautiful children, and guided our son, Grant, to Olympic success.

I always believed it was a shame that South African swimmers in the 1970’s and 80’s were denied the opportunity to test themselves against international competition and wonder how many potential world beaters retired before reaching their true potential.

All through the quiet years Jen kept herself active and kept in contact with the pool, fitting in a modest training schedule around her otherwise busy schedule supporting others. During this time she swam the odd masters meet and started dabbling in open water swimming. Despite her relatively low level of strength and fitness, her inner strength and fierce competitive nature ensured she still achieved exceptional results.

The Resurgence – Open Water

Seven years ago Jen helped me through some significant health issues. During this time we retired from the workforce and Jen started training on a more regular basis. Restarting a vigorous training program that late in life is not easy but Jen managed to build rapport with a few serious open water swimmers to kick start her comeback. Training as an informal squad, at the Manly Boyd Charlton pool, this group of outstanding individuals fast became the core of her training.

Unsurprisingly, swimming with open water swimmers, she started focussing, and competing in open water events. Having done the work in the pool she shocked a number of regular open water swimmers, coming from “nowhere” to beat not only the top swimmers in her age group, but all comers in the women’s event, and beating most of the men as well. At her first major swim one competitor in his 40’s was heard to complain the results were wrong as “they say a 60 year old granny beat me”. They know each other well now, and he still hasn’t beaten her.

Over the past five years Jen has competed in numerous open water events between the 2 and 5 kilometre distances, always winning her age group and frequently coming in as the top female swimmer or as the top swimmer overall male or female. Notable wins, beating a well known Sydney 2000 Olympian in the Manly Cole Classic 2km race, Jen having already raced the 5km event, and a win in 2025 over a current Australian open water team member by 23 seconds in the 5km event at the Cole. Later in 2025 Jen went on to win the world masters 3km swim for her age group in a time of 46:55, a time that placed her fifth out of all the females, with only two 25-29, and two 30-34 year old’s recording faster times at the event.

Resurgence Pool

Looking for more challenges, Jen started dabbling in a few pool races a couple of years back. She swam a few local events and, due to a lack of opportunities to race longer distance events, a couple of time trials. Armed with this she set off to the Australian Masters meet in Darwin in 2024. Day one she had to swim her first ever 800m swim in competition. Having no experience at the distance she did was she does best, stuck to her strategy (mainly holding technique and ignoring pain!) and won the event in a world record for her age group. She went on to win the 100m, 400m, and 200m (her second world record), and was named the female swimmer of the meet.

So far this year, after moving up an age bracket, she has broken the 200m long course world record, broken the 200m, 400m (3 times), and 800m short course world records in her age group, and was once again female swimmer of the meet at the Australian Masters Championship.

Surf lifesaving

Jen was recruited by Bondi Masters Lifesaving team as a surf swimmer in 2024. Her experience with the East London Surf Lifesaving club as a teenager held her in good stead to compete as a lifesaver. Her performances have resulted in multiple gold medals, for the surf swim, surf swim teams, and board rescue, at the national and international level.

Training Schedule

Jen swims 7 days a week. However, up to two sessions a week are “easy” swims in the ocean, swimming with the “Drinks Express” open water group at Manly Beach. The rest of the sessions are intensive 4.5 to 5.5 kilometre sessions with minimal rest. Jen and Rowan Webb (a seasoned open water swimmer) set the session guidelines for the group, and they are not for the faint hearted. When Rowan is peaking his training schedule for the Rottnest swim, the Saturday training schedule can be a gruelling 20 by 400m freestyle session! Besides this, Sunday is reserved for a hectic 10 by 400m freestyle session.

Results don’t come cheap.

Gary Brits

Meet the 60 year old with a podium finish at the Cole Classic

On Sunday 6 February, the annual Cole Classic ocean swim took place off Shelly Beach in rough conditions. Australia’s largest swimming tournament, occurring on the first Sunday in February, it consists of 1km, 2km, and 5km open water challenges.

The 2022 Cole Classic, marking the 40^th anniversary since its foundation, attracted almost 4,000 participants.

We are pleased to report that the star of our article leading up to the event placed third in the 2km swim! Lexi Harrison placed first in the 2km and Annika Fowler second. In the men’s 2km Ollie Signorini placed first, Logan Kaye second and Duke Wieland third. You can view the results for the 1km and 5km races here. 

W also for Jen Brits 

This year, the one to watch is local lass Jeanette Brits. In last year’s Cole Challenge she placed third female and 11^th overall in the 5km challenge, covering the distance in 63 minutes, 5 seconds – an easily-calculated average speed of 5km/hr. And yet she’s a surprisingly youth-like 60 years of age – double or triple the age of many of her competitors.

“2021 Cole Classic was the first time I have ever competed in a 5km race,” Ms Brits revealed to Manly Observer. “I swam in my first Cole Classic in the 2km event in 2016.”

Last weekend, on 30 January, Ms Brits participated in the annual Big Swim from Palm Beach to Whale Beach. She covered the 2.8km distance in 29:39 minutes – fourth overall (men and women) and a full three minutes ahead of the nearest female rival.

She was also between three and nine minutes faster than all male and female winners from the previous four years – somewhat spritely for a 60-year-old! A phenomenal endurance swimmer, it appears she’s as much porpoise as person…

When swimming in these challenging long-distance competitions, which involve incredible physical strength and stamina as well as psychological determination, how does she attain a mental state to strive ahead and avoid fatigue and loss of willpower?

“When swimming longer distances, I don’t have a particular song playlist in my head or a set of thoughts to work through,” she considered, “however, I do try to maintain an awareness of the scenery and conditions to avoid over-processing my energy levels. Swimming is definitely a “mind over matter" battle when competing in longer races. The body faces such fatigue, and it’ll definitely try and convince you to alter your race plan!”

Any advice she can give to people thinking of taking up long-distance swimming?

“The advice I would give anyone starting longer ocean swims is to be patient with yourself. I have to work extremely hard every time I enter the water to maintain my fitness, but it’s important to be consistent and build fitness and endurance over time. It definitely is a long-term investment.

“The reward for swimming on a regular basis is improved well-being and especially the benefits that relate to mental health. The feeling after an ocean swim can’t be sufficiently put into words as a swim in the morning sets one up for a great day!”

Bold and Beautiful

Ms Brits trains at Manly Beach at 6.30 am every morning with the Drinks Express Team – named after captain Andrew Drinkwater, part of the Bold and Beautiful Swim Squad Manly (B & B) that consists of hundreds of active ocean swimmers.

“Moving to the Northern Beaches from Castle Hill six years ago,” she said, “my love of the ocean was reignited by the B & B swimmers, especially the Drinks Express at 6.30 am. These folk are motivating and inspirational, and I would not be swimming today were it not for this wonderful group!”