Olympians, Cats players and an array of celebrities will hit the waves with more than 5000 swimmers on Saturday in the iconic Pier to Pub.
After a nail-biting finish last year Olympic champion Mack Horton returns for a third attempt to see if he can finally beat seven-time winner Sam Sheppard.
Italian Olympic 1500m gold medalist Gregorio Paltrinieri and Syrian dual Olympian Azad Al-Barazi will also swim in the star-studded event.
In the women’s event World Ironwoman Champion and six-time winner Harriet Brown returns to defend her title, with Australian junior champ Lani Pallister expected to make it a tight tussle.
Competitors from 11 countries will take on the iconic swim with ages spanning 75 years.
The youngest competitor, Zac McInnes, who turns 12 on the day, will join 87-year-olds Dorothy Dickey and Keith Peter in the water.
The Lorne Pier to Pub is in its 38th year and is the largest ocean water swim in the world.
The 1.2km course starts at the Lorne Pier and finishes on the foreshore in front of the Lorne Surf Lifesaving Club house.
Volunteers of Lorne Surf Lifesaving Club organise and run the event.
The event began in the 70s, when members of the club dared each other to dive from the pier and swim through Louttit Bay to Lorne foreshore, before attending the Lorne Pub.
Australian swimming legends and Olympic gold medalists Kieren Perkins and Daniel Kowalski are among the previous winners of the event.
