Flippers Touring Team has South Aus Champs Success!

23 January 2025
Swim NSW 2025 Tour Team to SA Champs
Written by: Jon Shaw -Swimming NSW Coaching Director

NSW Touring Team – South Australian Open Championships – 17-19 March 2025

The NSW Team arrived at the Adelaide Aquatic & Leisure Centre ready and keen to compete. The Team consists of 13 swimmers, 3 coaches, and myself as team manager.

Day 1:

We immediately faced a challenge, with only the competition pool available due to renovations. To mitigate this, Swimming SA implemented two 30-minute breaks during the heats and one during the finals. While this created some difficulties for warm-ups and swim-downs, our swimmers and coaches formulated effective strategies to adapt to the conditions.

On the first night of finals, the Mighty Blues secured an impressive 5 Gold, 2 Silver, and 1 Bronze medal!

Gold Medallists:

• Sienna Toohey (Coach Wayne Gould) W200m Breaststroke in 2:30.91
• Gabriel Gorgas (Coach Justin Rothwell) M400m Freestyle in 3:57.94 (PB)
• Joseph Hamson (Coach Nick Dobson) M200m Butterfly in 2:04.81
• Olivia Wunsch (Coach Michaela Pattinson) W50m Freestyle in 0:25.49
• W4 x 50m Freestyle Relay (Olivia Wunsch, Lillie McPherson, Rafaela Kopellou, Asha Ring) in 1:43.73

Silver Medallists:

• Rafaela Kopellou (Coach Adam Kable) W200m Butterfly in 2:12.83
• M4 x 50m Medley Relay (Marius Boll, Gabriel Gorgas, Joseph Hamson, Joel Flemming) in 1:43.46

Bronze Medallist:

• Ivy Miller (Coach Pat Stellino) W50m Backstroke in 0:30.07

To wrap up the day, two swimmers were approached by the Australian Sports Integrity Officers, leading to a later night than anticipated. Another experience for both athletes! Kudos to the team and coaches for their outstanding performance!
 

Swim NSW 2025 Tour Team to SA Champs 1
Swim NSW 2025 Tour Team to SA Champs 2

Day 2:

The NSW Mighty Blues' performance at the South Australian Open Championships was nothing short of impressive. On the second day of the competition, the team demonstrated exceptional resilience and skill, even under less-than-ideal conditions. The Mighty Blues added significantly to their medal tally, earning 4 Gold, 4 Silver, and 2 Bronze medals, which brought their cumulative count to 9 Gold, 6 Silver, and 3 Bronze.

A standout performance came from Sienna Toohey, who, coached by Wayne Gould, won the Women's 100m Breaststroke with a remarkable time of 1:07.69, setting a new South Australian All Comers Record.

Additionally, Gabriel Gorgas (Coach Justin Rothwell) delivered a stellar performance, winning the Men's 100m Freestyle and then securing another victory in the Men's 200m Individual Medley – an excellent display of swimming!

Gold Medallists:

  • Gabriel Gorgas (Coach Justin Rothwell): Men's 100m Freestyle in 0:50.45 and Men's 200m IM in 2:01.65
  • Marius Boll (Coach Chris Nesbit): Men's 200m Backstroke in 2:01.86
  • Sienna Toohey (Coach Wayne Gould): Women's 100m Breaststroke in 1:07.69 (new SA All Comers Record)

Silver Medallists:

  • Ivy Miller (Coach Pat Stellino): Women's 100m Backstroke in 1:03.35
  • Rafaela Kopellou (Coach Adam Kable): Women's 400m Individual Medley in 4:56.78 (PB)
  • Olivia Wunsch (Coach Michaela Pattinson): Women's 50m Butterfly in 0:26.76
  • Luke Higgs (Coach Angelo Basalo): Men's 1500m Freestyle in 16:01.18 (PB)

Bronze Medallists:

  • Joseph Hamson (Coach Nick Dobson): Men's 100m Butterfly in 0:54.69
  • Sam Higgs (Coach Angelo Basalo): Men's 200m Individual Medley in 2:05.90

In addition to the competition, insights from Olivia Wunsch and her coach Michaela Pattinson provided the team with valuable learning experiences. Olivia shared her journey, including her preparation and experiences leading to her participation in the Paris Olympics, offering inspiration and guidance to her teammates.

Day 3:

The final night of finals once again highlighted the outstanding performances of the Mighty Blues. Despite facing extreme heat with temperatures soaring above 38 degrees, our swimmers and coaches persevered to deliver some unforgettable swims.

Gold Medallists:

Building on her previous successes, Sienna Toohey (Coach Wayne Gould) captured gold in the Women's 50m Breaststroke with a personal best time of 0:31.19, setting a new South Australian Age All Comers Record. This victory secured Sienna's sweep of the breaststroke events, winning the 50m, 100m, and 200m distances, and earning her the title of NSW Female swimmer of the meet. Congratulations, Sienna!

Gabriel Gorgas (Coach Justin Rothwell) also completed a sweep of three events, clinching the Men's 200m Freestyle with a new personal best of 1:50.03, adding to his golds in the 100m and 400m freestyle events, all of which were personal bests. Gabriel also triumphed in the 200m Individual Medley, earning the distinction of NSW Male swimmer of the meet. Outstanding swimming!

Olivia Wunsch (Coach Michaela Pattinson) claimed gold in the Women's 100m Freestyle with a time of 0:54.80, complementing her earlier victory in the Women's 50m Freestyle.

Another gold medallist tonight was Sam Higgs (Coach Angelo Basalo) who won the Men's 400m Individual Medley in 4:32.71, along with his bronze medal in the Men's 200m Individual Medley.

Silver Medallists:

  • Joseph Hamson (Coach Nick Dobson): Men's 50m Butterfly in 0:24.41
  • Ivy Miller (Coach Pat Stellino): Women's 200m Backstroke in 2:15.75
  • Gabriel Gorgas (Coach Justin Rothwell): Men's 200m Breaststroke in 2:22.00

Bronze Medallists:

  • Rafaela Kopellou (Coach Adam Kable): Women's 200m Individual Medley in 2:19.74
  • Marius Boll (Coach Chris Nesbit): Men's 100m Backstroke in 0:56.38
  • Luke Higgs (Coach Angelo Basalo): Men's 800m Freestyle in 8:24.45

Tonight's medal tally included 4 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze, bringing the cumulative total to 13 gold, 9 silver, and 6 bronze, making a total of 28 medals.

The NSW swimmers displayed outstanding determination over the last three days in challenging conditions, gaining valuable experiences and insights. This tour has allowed the swimmers to reset at the start of the year and return home with a positive mindset to pursue their goals for 2025.

A huge thank you goes out to the team coaches, Angelo Basalo, Michaela Pattinson, and Justin Rothwell, whose exceptional leadership and teamwork greatly contributed to the swimmers' achievements.

This tour concludes the activities for the 2024 NSW National Flippers Squad. Special thanks to Swimming Australia’s Leigh Nugent and Gary Barclay for their continued support of our NSW swimmers and coaches.

GO THE MIGHTY BLUES!

Jon O’Neil-Shaw

SNSW Coaching Director

Swim NSW 2025 Tour Team to SA Champs 3
Swim NSW 2025 Tour Team to SA Champs 4

 

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