The 2019 SunSmart WA State Age Long Course Swimming Championships were held at HBF Stadium from 20-23 December. Over the four days of competition, spectators were treated to some amazing performances from the best up and coming age athletes in the state and abroad, with 338 swimmers from 36 clubs.
With an immense amount of local talent and some incredible visitors taking to the water, HBF Stadium was alight as the excitement and exhilaration of State Championships ruled the Swimming WA world.
Some highlights include:
Boy’s 16 year-olds 100m Backstroke –
As expected the National Champion and Junior Dolphins Team Member, Joshua Edwards-Smith was too strong for the field in the Boy’s 16-year-old 100m Backstroke. Edwards-Smith who is fresh off a successful campaign at the McDonald’s Queensland State Championships stormed home to win in a time of 56.86. Ryan Lummis (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) and Daniel Brown (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) claimed second and third respectively.
Girl’s 13 – 16-year-olds 4x200m Freestyle Relay –
The Girl’s 13 – 16-year-olds 4x200m Freestyle Relay was the highlight of the evenings proceeding as Breakers and UWA-West Coast went head to head. Breakers were out to a very fast start thanks to Elyse Weston and Samantha MacFarlane. UWA-West Coast fought hard through the third leg of Ruby Knott however, Breakers’ Rosie Wilson and Bianca Macfarlane held strong to take out the Gold in 8:36.31.
Girls 800m Freestyle –
The Girl’s 800m Freestyle was highlighted as one of the races to watch before the Championships with some talented swimmers set to take to the water, and it did not disappoint. Through the first 400m swimmers swam stroke for stroke until Singaporean visitor Ashley Lim (Singapore) managed to pull away from the field. Lim’s lead was unsurmountable and proved the winning difference however this left an incredible battle between Lily Beste (Rockingham, c: Brooke Kemp), Samantha Macfarlane (Breakers, c: Harry Clark) and Ruby Knott (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Shaw) in which Beste proved too strong.
Girls 15 years-old 100m Freestyle –
It was clear from the start of the race, the battle was between the middle lanes as Kate Harrison (Westside Christchurch, c: Jon Harrison) and Elyse Weston (Breakers, c: Harry Clark) tore down the first 50m. Weston proved too strong as they came down to finish just out-touching Harrison by 0.04 of a second, finishing in 57.62.
Boys 13-15 years-old 4x50m Medley Relay –
The final event of the evenings proceeding was an absolute nail bitter as UWA-West Coast, Breakers and Southside Penrhos Wesley battled for the State Title. Breakers and Southside Penrhos Wesley looked to be too strong heading into the final 50m, however, after a huge performance from Matthew Lamb (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Shaw) finishing in 23.74, the team from UWA-West Coast was able to secure Gold.
Girl’s 15 Years 100m Butterfly –
Kate Harrison (Westside Christchurch) was nothing short of spectacular as she dominated the Girl’s 15 Years 100m Butterfly. It was clear from the start that Harrison was out on a mission as she exploded through the first 50m to turn in 28.37, going on to finish in 1:00.51. Harrison’s swim breaks the WA Residential Record formerly held by Swimming WA Ambassador and 2016 Olympian, Brianna Throssell.
Boy’s 16 Years 200m Individual Medley –
Adriano Todoro (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Shaw) proved once again why he has been dubbed the “energiser bunny” as he ran away with the Boy’s 16 Year’s 200m IM. Through the first half of the race, it was a tight battle between the middle lanes, however, as expected moving into the Breaststroke leg, Todoro was too strong pulling away to a 5m lead thanks to a 37.93 split. Moving into the Freestyle, Todoro’s lead was too large and he claimed Gold in 2:11.00 ahead of Drew Mann (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Shaw), Ardi Azman (Singapore) and Alec Mander (Perth City, c: Eoin Carrol).
Girl’s 13 Years 50m Freestyle –
The Girl’s 13 years 50m Freestyle was set to be an absolute cracker with a field stack with young talent. With Inez Miller (St Hildas c: Wendy Joyce), Telani Woodham (UWA-West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) and Brielle Krispyn (Manjimup Marlins, c: Pauline Collins) set to race from the middle lanes, the excitement within HBF Stadium was palpable. Off the block, Woodham looked the one to beat, however, Miller quickly shut the lead down and tore down the pool to claim Gold in 27.23.
Boy’s 1500m Freestyle –
The Boy’s 1500m Freestyle saw a field some incredible performances as the Bunbury Beast, Kyle Lee (Bunbury, c: Jason Evans) claimed Gold to accompany his 400m and 800m Freestyle wins. Lee who has swum a huge programme throughout these Championships was too strong once again, swimming away at the 400m mark and cruising to victory in 16:11.38. Silver saw Robert Bonsall (UWA-West Coast, c: Jason Evans) in 16:26.35 with Bronze going to Christopher Verran (Guildford Kalamunda, c: Brett Tongue) who swam a 20 second PB to touch in 16:31.57.
With all events now concluded, you can’t help but feel excited about the future of Western Australian Swimming as a pool of talent have proven themselves over the past days. With a wealth of Coaching talent guiding the next generation of stars, it is a great time to be a part of Swimming.
Once again, Swimming WA would like to thank the generosity of the Officials and volunteers who give up their time to ensure the success of Championships meets such as this.
Full Results on the PDF below:
