The 2020 Hancock Prospecting Western Australian Swimming Championships were held from 17 - 19 January 2020 at HBF Stadium, and resulted in some outstanding performances displayed by WA’s stars and up-and-coming swimmers. The State’s best swimmers swam against strong competition from interstate visitors in what was the first real test as Swimmers begin their road to Tokyo.
There were several outstanding individual and team performances, these include:
Men’s 400m Freestyle
Distance King, Ben Roberts (Breakers, c: Bud McAllister, WAIS) flexed his muscles as he emphatically opened his campaign. Roberts was pushed early by Ashton Brinkworth (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) but by the halfway point it was clear, Roberts was head and shoulders above the field. Roberts went on to finish in 3:53.71, the fastest time he has ever raced in season. Adam Sudlow (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Shaw) finished in second in 3:58.88 and Hugh Moran (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Shaw) claimed bronze in 4:01.46.
Women’s 50m Backstroke Multi-Class
Spectators were treated to a masterclass, as Para Swimming Royalty, Yip Pin Xiu (Singapore) powered home to take Gold in the Women’s 50m Backstroke Multi-Class. Pin Xiu, who is a three-time Paralympic Gold Medallist and World Record holder finished her race in 1:05.28, which was just outside her personal best. Pin Xiu is aiming to qualify for her fourth Paralympic in 2020 and has chosen to open her campaign at the 2020 Hancock Prospecting WA Swimming Championships.
Men’s 200m Butterfly
The Men’s 200m Butterfly saw a cracking race, with several competitors swimming lifetime best times. From the gun, Grant Irvine (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) was out strong, leading the field through in 27.15. However, going into the 3rd 50m the race had been set up for a fantastic finish as Kieren Pollard (North Coast, c: Ian Mills) and Nic Brown (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) made their presence known. With Pollard leading into the final turn, Brown maximised his turn and under-water skills to put himself in a position to claim the state title. On the touch, Brown held off the fast-finishing Pollard to finish in 2:00.65 and 2:00.96 respectively with David Schlicht (MLC Aquatic, c: Nick Veliades) finishing 3rd in 2:04.48.
Women’s 100m Freestyle
The blue-ribbon event for the 2020 Hancock Prospecting WA Swimming Championships once again did not disappoint with a spectacular field battling for the Gold. Not to any surprise, Brianna Throssell (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) was too strong cruising to yet another State Title in the 100m Freestyle. Throssell was incredibly fast through the first 50m, turning with almost two body lengths ahead of second place. Throssell’s fast start enabled her to display dominance through the second 50m as she stormed home to touch in 54.90. Kiah Melverton (TSS Aquatic, c: Chris Nesbit) took 2nd and Olivia Lefoe (MLC Aquatic, c: Nick Veliades) claimed 3rd.
Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay
The final event of this Friday’s proceedings saw a spectacular race between some powerhouse clubs. Victorian-based team, MLC Aquatic were out incredibly fast through a stellar performance by Olivia Lefoe, however, an incredible leg from Talara-Jade Dixon saw St Hilda’s shoot forward into first. The race began to tighten as UWA-West Coast swam into second thanks to the efforts of Brianna Throssell, however, St Hilda’s proved too strong as Grace Hull powered home to win Gold in 4:22.46. UWA-West Coast claimed Silver, with MLC Aquatic finishing 3rd.
Men’s 100m Freestyle Multi-Class –
A pool stacked with talent took to the water in the Men’s 100m Freestyle Multi-Class with one of the deepest fields WA has ever seen racing for Gold. Australian Dolphin and 2019 IPC World Championship Medallist, Ben Popham (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) was all class finishing in 59.61. Silver was claimed by Winson Chen (UWA-West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) finish ahead of Liam Smith (St Hilda’s, c: Deb Jones), both of whom held off Colin Jackson (UWA-West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) and Jeremy McClure (South Shore, c: Chris Twomey). With all swimmers aiming to push toward a guernsey at the 2020 Paralympics, it is a great time to be involved with Para Swimming in WA.
Men’s 200m Breaststroke -
Just as expected, George Harley (Breakers, c: Bud McAllister, WAIS) dominated the 200m Breaststroke from start to finish. Regardless of recent injury mishaps, Harley has been in stellar form throughout the Championships. Harley was out incredibly fast turning through the 100m mark in 1:04.16, and in true Harley fashion, his race continued to build. Harley finished the race in 2:13.94, which is a great sign leading into Tokyo 2020 and beyond. In second was Adriano Todoro (UWA-West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) just ahead of Joshua Agnihotri (Southside Penrhos Wesley, c: Nick Watkins) in 2:31.18.
Women’s 200m Freestyle –
The Women’s 200m Freestyle saw one of the most exciting events of the entire Championships as a field full of talent raced for glory. Leading through the first 100m was Arna Couper (Perth City, c: Matt Magee) who looked strong and comfortable. Through the 3rd 50m, the field started to tighten as Olivia Lefoe (MLC Aquatic, c: Nick Veliades) and Elyse Weston (Breakers, c: Harry Clark) made their move. The last 50m saw a fantastic finish from Lefoe who (le)flew home to claim Gold in 2:05.38. Couper and Weston tied for 2nd and in turn, both collected the State Title with Charlotte Ericksen (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) claiming Bronze.
Men’s 400m Individual Medley –
The Men’s 400 IM was set to be one of the greatest races from the outset of the Championships with two giants of the Australian Medley Swimming world on a collision course as Kieren Pollard (North Coast, c: Ian Mills) and David Schlicht (MLC Aquatic, c: Nick Veliades) were set to race. With Pollard narrowly missing his chance in the 200m IM it was clear he was looking to take Gold and make a statement right from the start. Although Schlicht led through the first 100m, Pollard made light work of the visitor in the backstroke leg and swam away to victory. Pollard stormed home to touch in 4:22.77, a fantastic in-season swim to see him continue his dominance over this event. Schlicht touched in 2nd ahead of Christopher Verran (Guildford Kalamunda, c: Brett Tongue).
Multi-Class Sprint Challenge -
With one of the deepest fields WA Multi-Class Swimming has seen in recent years, you couldn’t help but feel the excitement in the stadium as event 201 lined up behind the blocks. With multiple Paralympians and many more Paralympic hopefuls on the blocks, all eyes were fixed on the Pool. Lane 4’s Ben Popham (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) was too strong, strengthening his preparation for Paralympic trials in June. In second saw Liam Smith (St Hilda’s, c: Deb Jones) who swam valiantly to hold off Teegan Reder (UWA-West Coast, c: Ryan Spencer).
With another spectacular State Championships in the books, attention now turns to the 2020 Hancock Prospecting Australian Championships which will be held at HBF Stadium in April.
With a number of highly ranked athletes set to represent WA, there is no doubting it will be an absolute cracker. Eyes will be heavily fixed on several Olympic hopefuls, who will continue their preparation for 2020 Olympic Trials and hopefully the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
With so much excitement ahead, Swimming WA, once again 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.
Congratulations to the State Champions for the 2020 Hancock Prospecting WA Swimming Championships:
Ben Popham (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) - Men’s 50m Freestyle Multi-Class, Men’s 400m Freestyle Multi-Class, Men’s 100m Freestyle Multi-Class
Jordan Berryman (UWA-West Coast, c: Ryan Spencer) - Women’s 50m Freestyle Multi-Class, Women’s 50m Butterfly Multi-Class, Women’s 200m Individual Medley Multi-Class, Women’s 200m Freestyle Multi-Class, Women’s 50m Breaststroke Multi-Class
Holly Barratt (Rockingham, c: Will Scott, WAIS) - Women’s 50m Butterfly, Women’s 100m Butterfly, Women’s 50m Freestyle, Women’s 50m Backstroke
Ben Roberts (Breakers, c: Bud McAllister, WAIS) - Men’s 400m Freestyle, Men’s 800m Freestyle, Men’s 1500m Freestyle
Winson Chen (UWA-West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) - Men’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class, Men’s 200m Individual Medley Multi-Class
Talara-Jade Dixon (St Hilda’s, c: Deb Jones) - Women’s 100m Breaststroke, Women’s 50m Breaststroke
Nic Brown (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) - Men’s 200m Butterfly
Blair Evans (UWA-West Coast, c: Will Scott, WAIS) – Women’s 400m Individual Medley, Women’s 200m Breaststroke, Women’s 200m Individual Medley
Alex Milligan (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) - Men’s 50m Breaststroke
Brianna Throssell (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) - Women’s 100m Freestyle
Ashton Brinkworth (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) - Men’s 100m Freestyle, Men’s 50m Butterfly, Men’s 200m Freestyle
Tegan Reder (Victoria Park) - Women’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class, Women’s 400m Freestyle Multi-Class
Colin Jackson (UWA-West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) - Men’s 50m Backstroke Multi-Class
Alyssa Burgess (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) - Women’s 200m Backstroke, Women’s 100m Backstroke
Teegan Watson (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Shaw) - Women’s 800m Freestyle
Joshua Edwards-Smith (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Shaw) - Men’s 50m Backstroke
Kieren Pollard (North Coast, c: Ian Mills) – Men’s 200m Individual Medley, Men’s 400m Individual Medley
Charlotte Ericksen (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) – Women’s 400m Freestyle
Kevin Kalember (Rockingham, c: Will Scott, WAIS) – Men’s 200m Backstroke, Men’s 100m Backstroke
George Harley (Breakers, c: Bud McAllister, WAIS) – Men’s 100m Breaststroke, Men’s 200m Breaststroke
Lucinda Foley (UWA-West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) – Women’s 100m Freestyle Multi-Class, Women’s 100m Backstroke Multi-Class
Jack Perry (Manjimup) – Men’s 50m Butterfly Multi-Class, Men’s 50m Breaststroke Multi-Class
Jeremy McClure (South Shore, c: Chris Twomey) – Men’s 100m Backstroke Multi-Class
Samantha Macfarlane (Breakers, c: Harry Clark) – Women’s 1500m Freestyle
Joshua Hofer OAM (Perth City) – Men’s 200m Freestyle Multi-Class
Jackson Govers (St Hilda’s, c: Deb Jones) – Men’s 100m Butterfly
Jonte Blake (UWA-West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) – Men’s 50m Freestyle
Arna Couper (Perth City, c: Matt Magee) – Women’s 200m Freestyle
Elyse Weston (Breakers, c: Harry Clark) – Women’s 200m Freestyle
UWA-West Coast - Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay, Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay
St Hilda’s - Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay, Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay
Southside Penrhos Wesley – Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay
Rockingham – Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay
Full Resutls here:
