2019 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Championships: Day 2
The Mighty Blues Medal Tally
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| Day 2 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 15 |
| Total | 11 | 6 | 9 | 26 |
The second night of competition saw some fantastic swimming from the mighty Blues. In what will be one of the swims of the meet Matthew Wilson (SOPAC – Coach Adam Kable – SOP Hub) took the Gold in a world leading time of 2:07.16. Matthew was under world record time for a large majority of the race but just missed out. His time still broke the 5-year-old Commonwealth record and also set a new Australian record. It was also the first time that Matthew dipped under the 2:08 mark…exciting times ahead!
Also taking Gold in the 18/19yrs 200m Breaststroke was Finn O’Connor (Carlile – Coach Misha Payne) in a new PB time of 2:16.85…taking 1.85secs off his entry time. To round out a great event for NSW Nathan Zhu (Trinity Grammar – Coach Matthew Brown) picked up the Bronze in a time 2:20.74.
Some other celebrated highlights included Jacinta Essam (Ginninderra – Coach Shannon Rollason – ACT Hub) picking up her second medal of the meet (Bronze in the 17/18yrs 800m Freestyle) winning Gold in the 17/18yrs 400m IM in a time of 4:49.58. Not to be outdone was Francesca Fitzhenry (Trinity Grammar – Coach Adam Kable – SOP Hub) picking up Gold in the 19/20yrs 400 IM.
After a career best swim in the 100m Backstroke the night before William Yang came out with all guns blazing to win Gold in the 50m Butterfly. William was his harshest critic saying that the finish could be a lot better…I’m sure that his coach Bobby Hurley will fine tune his skills leading into the Australian Trials in June. Also, in the same event Amanda Isaac-coached Shaun Champion (Abbotsleigh) picked up the Bronze medal in a new PB of 0:24.01…taking a massive 0.75 off his entry time.
In the Women’s 17/18yrs 100m Butterfly Abbey Webb (Ginninderra – Coach Shannon Rollason – ACT Hub) picked up Silver in a new best time of 1:00.48.
Para Swimming
What a fantastic evening for our Para swimmers with a total of 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze medals won on the night. With selection for the Australian Para Swimming Team on the line our NSW Swimmers have certainly put their hands up!
Highlights included:
In the Men’s 100m Backstroke the Auburn boys showed the way. Taking the Gold was Timothy Hodge (S9) in a career best time of 1:02.73... a swim that sees his time leading the World rankings! To back his team mate up was Ricky Betar (S14) winning the Silver medal in a swift 1:02.03…also now ranked No.1 in the world. Coach Clinton Camilleri would be well pleased with his charges some 14 months out from the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
Continuing the Gold rush for NSW Swimmers was Ellie Cole (S9) (Knox Pymble – Coach Simon Cusack – Northern Area Hub) in winning the Women’s 100m Backstroke in a time of 1:10.20 taking 0.31 off her entry time! Training under her new Coach Simon Cusack since January there will be more improvement for the 3-time Paralympian. In the same event Jasmine Greenwood (S10) from the Bay & Basin Club picked up the Bronze medal in a time of 1:10.36... taking a massive 1.34 secs off her entry time! Her Coach Bob McEvoy would be well pleased!
In the non-selection event for S14 athletes Taylor Corry (Nelson Bay – Coach Tom Davis) won the Gold medal in the 50m Butterfly in a new PB of 0:30.31. In the corresponding Men’s event Joshua Alford (Tuggeranong Vikings – Coach David Murphy) swam to claim a Silver medal whilst Mitchell Kilduff (SLC Aquadot – Coach Gavin Stewart) picked up the Bronze medal.
What a great night for NSW Swimming with lots more PB’s swam over the first two days of competition.
Bring on Day 3…GO THE MIGHTY BLUES!
Jon Shaw, Swimming NSW Coaching Director
