Beyond the Finish Line – Part 5: For Cooper Ketchen the Key to Success is a Winning Mindset

The next installment of our spotlight series welcomes a talented young swimmer who took 1st Place Overall Male in the 2025 2.3-mile North Shore Challenge Swim. A competitive swimmer since the age of 7, Cooper shares with us his training methods and reminisces about his North Shore Swim Series experiences.

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How did you get involved in swimming and what is your earliest memory of ocean swimming in Hawaii?  

I first learned to swim while living in the Solomon Islands. From when I was around 2 years old I would go down to the beach with my family and snorkel over the reef and shipwrecks. I don’t have many memories of the Solomon Islands but I do remember always getting in the ocean and swimming with all of the beautiful marine life and definitely think that is what inspired my love of swimming.

I did my first ocean race in Hawaii when I was 10 years old. I had already been competitively swimming in the pool for about 3 years by then, but had never done an ocean race. So when I found out that a bunch of my friends were doing the Cholo’s Waimea Bay Swim, I was keen to join. I swam the race with my friend and we just took it easy, taking time to check out the fish, turtles, and even a baby sting ray. I have swum this race every year since, and this year I came in first in the open men’s division. 

This year you placed 1st overall in the final race of the series. Tell us about that experience. How were the conditions? What was your strategy for the course?

The Ehukai to Waimea swim is definitely one of the more challenging swims of the North Shore Swim Series, being a longer race. The conditions this year were pretty good and there weren’t really any waves to throw you off course which is always nice.

At the start of the race I stayed on the inside, close to shore, but it soon started to get really shallow, so I headed further out. About 15 minutes into the race, myself and two other swimmers had made a gap between us and the rest of the pack. After passing Shark’s Cove the waves started to get a bit bigger and choppier and a little harder to swim through, but as we rounded the rocks and into the bay of Waimea the water calmed and I started to pick up the pace and sprint into shore. I was able to get out of the water first and sprint up the sand for the win, with second and third places right behind me.

Out of all the races do you have a favorite and why? 

The Cholo’s Waimea Bay swim is definitely my favourite North Shore Swim Series swim. I have so many great memories of this race. It was the first open water race I ever swam, I personally think that it is the prettiest one, and I got to swim the race this year with surfing legend Nathan Florence! This race isn’t quite a sprint but it’s also not super long which I really like. The visibility is amazing with so much to see, and the water is always relatively calm and easy to swim in.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in participating in the series for the first time? 

I would say to definitely give it a go! All of the races in the North Shore Swim Series are super safe, with lifeguards on jetskies and surfboards everywhere. The swims are beautiful, fun, and perfect for a first time open water race. The currents aren’t usually too strong, making it pretty easy to swim in a straight line and stay with all of the other people. You don’t have to race it fast, just get out there and enjoy it.

How do you prepare yourself for the series each year? Any tips or tricks youʻd like to share? 

I train in the pool every day with Iolani Swim Club (mornings and afternoons). It’s a great team and swimming is always more enjoyable when you’re training with friends. I also usually do a bit of open water swimming at Ala Moana or Kahala Beach starting a few weeks out from the NSSS. 

I think my biggest advantage in the open water comes from surfing 3-4 times a week. It keeps me familiar with the ocean and definitely helps with the ability to read the waves and currents. It’s also just a really fun way to cross-train and build endurance!

What is the most challenging AND most rewarding part of swimming in the North Shore Swim Series? 

I think that the most challenging part of the NSSS and any sort of swimming race is the mental game. If you don’t believe you can do something then it’ll never happen. If you believe you can win, then anything is possible.

Another really challenging part of these swims is not really knowing what the ocean is going to be doing until the day of the race. There could be big waves and strong currents, or it could be really calm, with no waves at all. So you pretty much need to be ready for anything!

Finishing any race in the NSSS is an achievement in itself and just getting to the beach and running up the sand to the finish always feels very rewarding. Swimming in the ocean is tough, especially for up to hours at a time, so I think when you do get to the end of the race you should always feel proud and like you have achieved something big no matter what place you come in.

What’s next for you when it comes to swimming? Anything else you’d like to share? 

Next year I’m moving to New Zealand, where there are open water races almost every weekend during summer, so one of my goals is to try and win a couple of those races. 

In the long term it would be really cool to make World Champs or maybe even the Olympics for either swimming in the pool or open water swimming. 

Open water swimming is definitely one of the most fun sports that there is, and Hawaii is probably the best place to do it. The water is so beautifully clear and racing in the ocean here is unlike anywhere else. I’m definitely hoping to make it back each summer for the NSSS and the Waikiki Roughwater Swim.

About the North Shore Swim Series: