Peter Genellos completes the Cole Classic

By Noel Rowsell

78-year old Peter Genellos has been raising funds for charity for over half of his life and hit the water again on Sunday 5th February, when he contested the annual Cole Classic at Manly.

The Cole Classic is an open-water swimming event, held annually at Shelley Beach, Manly.

The event is regarded as one of australia’s longest-running ocean swims and certainly one of the more prestigious.

a 35-year member of the St Marys rotary Club, Peter was a regular competitor in Penrith when the annual Bridge to Bridge was held, competing in that event for 30 years.

Since attaining the ripe old age of 70, Peter has switched his focus to ocean swims and, in spite of Covid restrictions on events over the past two years, has managed to compete in events every year in his ongoing pursuit of funds for charity.

over the years, Peter has raised $33,000 for the rotary Children’s Wing at Westmead, $7,500 for the oncology department (Chemo & radiation) at Nepean Hospital, $45,000 for Nepean Hospital’s Breast Cancer Fund, $3,500 for the adolescent Unit at Westmead Children’s Hospital and $30,000+ for little Wings.

In the past 40 years, Peter has raised a total of over $240,000 for charity and this was his 10th year representing #little Wings in an ocean race. anyone wishing to support Peter’s swim on behalf of little Wings can still do so via: https://hub.givar.com/connect/org/LittleWings/ campaigns/swimming-for-charity

# Little Wings is a non-profit organisation which provides free, professional and safe flight and ground transport services for sick children in rural and regional NSW. We strive to ease the journey and help sick children access specialised medical services and treatments only available in major cities or towns. We do everything we can to support families by easing the financial burden, emotional strain and travel fatigue they experience due to the long-distance travel associated with receiving vital medical treatment.