After much anticipation the 2019 Asia-Pac Super Splash has arrived in emphatic fashion with an incredible first day of competition at HBF Stadium. With 229 competitors, representing Australia and Asia it was a fantastic sight to see swimmers from all over the world come together to share in their passion for swimming fast.
The competition is a part of a new initiative formed by Swimming WA with assistance from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries to create a sports development relationship with our neighbouring nations. The event is different from a normal swim Meet, as athletes have entered as either team Aussie or team Asia and compete for points throughout the Meet.
China, Singapore and Malaysia were all a part of the Asian contingency that swam valiantly throughout the first day of competition.
The clubs representing Asia, are as follows;
- Hangzhou Sports School, China
- XLab, Singapore
- D Swim Academy, Malaysia
- Singapore Swimming Club, Singapore
- Canadian International School Huskies, Singapore
- Suzhou’s Singapore International School, Singapore
- Chinese Swimming Club, Singapore
Some highlights from day one includes;
Girls 11-12 y.o. 400m Freestyle –
The event was kicked off with an epic race in the Girls 11 & 12-year-olds 400m Freestyle. Yuchen Tong (Asia) managed to just out touch a strong performance from local rising star Bianca Petsos (Aussie) as the two battled it out over 8 laps. Natalie Van Selm (Aussie) took third for the Australian team, boosting the point tally and getting Team Aussie off to a flying start.
Boys 13-14 y.o. 50m Freestyle –
Event eight saw an incredible performance from Hangzhou Sports School as they flexed their muscles over the one lap splash and dash. Xinchen Zhang (Asia) took gold in 24.95 ahead of his teammates Shengkai Wu and Haoran Feng as the Asian team swept the medals.
Boys 9-10 y.o. 100m Backstroke -
The youngest competitors entered in this weekend event took to the water in the 100m Backstroke and produced a thrilling race. Russel Pang (Asia), asserted his dominance winning the event by over 7 seconds as he touched home in an incredible 1:21.15. Second saw Austin Bruford (Asia) narrowly touch out Deagan Hopkins (Aussie).
After an exhilarating first day of competition, athletes will now rest and recover before returning to HBF Stadium tomorrow morning. The action kicks off at 9am, with many more races left as we get ready to crown the 2019 Asia-Pac Super Splash Champion! Stay tuned via the Swimming WA Socials and through our Website.
Check the PDF below for today's results:
