Day one of the 2021 Hancock Prospecting WA Swimming Championships has set us up for an incredible four days. With three swimmers smashing Western Australian records on night one of finals.
Here are some of the highlights!
Johann Szymanski won the first ever State Championship gold medal for the Highlanders Swimming Club in the Men's 16-years 400m Freestyle, absolutely dominating the field by more than ten metres to win comfortably in a personal best time of 4:06:05.
Kaiden Richings had a similar impressive display in the Men's 17-years 400m Freestyle, going out strong and extending his lead throughout the race to win by over ten metres in 4:11:33. Richings has recently joined coach Ian Mills at North Coast Swim Club after making the move up from Bunbury.
Inez Miller and Georgina Gray are to blame for the crowd no longer having fingernails. The two went stroke for stroke for the entirety of the Girls 15 years 400m Freestyle, with Miller claiming victory by less than ten centimetres in a time of 4:25.07 to Gray's 4:25.48. Telani Woodham claimed bronze in 4:32.31.
In the Men's 18&O 400m IM, it was Kieren Pollard from North Coast Swimming Club who claimed the first record for the night. The 22-year-old started extending his lead in the Breastroke leg, before storming home in the final 100m of Freestyle to lower his previous WA Residential record by around one second to 4:19.62.
Pollard's North Coast team mate, Kyle Lee, showed why he is one of the best Freestyle swimmers in WA, with the 19-year-old charging home in the final 100m Freestyle in a split of 58.82 to pip 18-year-old Adriano Todoro from UWA West Coast by centimetres in a time of 4:31.54 to silver. Todoro claimed bronze in 4:31.64.
The Women's 17&O 400m IM saw Rockingham Swimming Club's Lily Beste claim the State Championship victory by over seven seconds in a time of 5:02.45, with Eliza Hodder second in 5:09.68 and Ale Marginet third in 5:30.22.
The Men's 14&O 100m Backstroke Multi-Class saw Liam Smith claim gold in 1:12.87 over second-placed swimming veteran Josh 'The Hoff' Hofer, with 15-year-old Ryan Peake taking bronze. Lucinda Foley won over the crowd with her solo performance in the Women's 13&O 100m Backstroke Multi-Class, with the 17-year-old winning gold in 1:45.53.
Next up was bragging rights for the fastest male and female swimmers in Western Australia. 20-year-old Tyrone Crees from Southside Penrhos Wesley created a bow-wave during the 'splash and dash' 50m Freestyle final, claiming gold in 23.18 in front of Harrison Hynes in 23.62 and Jamie Anderson in 23.76.
Alyssa Burgess from Arena Swim Club claimed the fastest 50m Freestyle time for the Open Women, the 19-year-old winning gold in 26.10, narrowly beating 17-year-old Kate Harrison from Westside Christchurch in 26.27. Caitlyn Ribbons was only one one-hundredth of a second behind Harrison for third overall in 26.28 seconds.
St Hildas Backstroke star, James Hansford, cruised to an easy victory in the Men's 18&O 200m Backstroke by over ten metres in a time of 2:11.79. The 24-year-old finishing narrowly outside his personal best time. Lucas Wilson claimed silver in 2:16.51 with Reilly Lovegrove third in 2:22.90.
The next WA record to tumble fell into the hands of the incredibly talented Alyssa Burgess. After becoming the fastest woman in the state over 50m Freestyle, Burgess returned to the pool less than 20 minutes later to smash her own WA Residential and WA All-Time record in the Women's 17&O 200m Backstroke.
Burgess broke the record in the morning heats session in a time of 2:14.31, only to better this mark by nearly two seconds in the final in a time of 2:12.41. Her Arena Swim Club team mate Tiana Forrestal claimed silver in 2:18.51, with Rosie Wilson taking the bronze in 2:25.89.
The 100m Backstroke saw some vicious times produced. Tom Wyatt demonstrated incredible underwater work to win the Boys 16-years age group in a time of 58.54. His Arena Swim Club team mate, Thomas Prowton, also broke the minute barrier to go 59.58 seconds, with Joe Quirk third in 1:03.33.
Iona Anderson stepped up to prove she is one of the most talented Backstrokers in WA history. The former gymnast has only pursued swimming full time since the start of 2018, yet smashed every WA All Time & Residential record for age groups 16 years and over when she touched in 1:01.56 for the Girls 100m Backstroke.
It now means the Breakers Swimming Club star has broken more than 50 State records across multiple age groups during her short time in the sport.
The Men's 18&O 100m Butterfly saw St Hildas Jackson Govers win gold in 54.97 seconds. Damien Badenhorst claimed gold in 57.15, while Nicolas Monger Molowny and Christopher Purcell tied for third in 58.11 seconds.
Kate Harrison appeared on the top of the podium once again in the Women's 17&O 100m Butterfly, winning gold in 1:01.09. Alyssa Burgess backed up her incredible efforts after winning gold in the 200m Backstroke and 50m Freestyle to claim silver behind Harrison in 1:02.18. Sarah Overheu won bronze in 1:02.87.
The end of the evening saw the endurance queens battle it out in the Women's 13&O 1500m Freestyle. Samantha Macfarlane from Breakers Swim Club claimed victory in 17:27.69. North Coast Swimming Club's Rosie Wilson took silver in 17:39.76 with her highly accredited coach, Ian Mills, providing some commentary insight to her race. It was a close finish for third, with Jessica Fry narrowly claiming bronze in 17:59.05.
A huge congratulations for all of our swimmers and coaches after day one! We want to send a huge thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers and officials for their incredible support. Make sure you keep an eye out on the Swimming WA Facebook and Instagram pages to catch all the action across the Hancock Prospecting WA Swimming Championships!
