The second day of the 2023 World Championship Trials brought 18 Western Australian (WA) athletes to the pool and a handful making finals. Let’s dive into it!
In the 100m backstroke, Iona Anderson (Breakers/WAIS) put on an outstanding performance, coming within a mere 0.06 seconds of the World Championship qualification time. Her third-place finish and proximity to the qualification standard left spectators in awe, truly highlighting her exceptional backstroke talent in the pool.
Alex Saffy S10 (Bunbury/AIS) took centre stage in the 100m butterfly multi-class event, as he surged ahead, touching the wall first with an impressive time of 57.95 seconds. Saffy's victory set the bar high for what can be expected as he competes at the upcoming World Para Championships.
Talara-Jade Dixon (St Hilda’s, c: Deb Jones) competed in the 100m breaststroke, securing a closely contested third place. Falling just one second short of the qualification time, Dixon came close to claiming second place, missing it by 0.70 seconds. Dixon’s performance was incredible to watch.
Turning our attention to the men's 50m butterfly B final, Ashton Brinkworth (UWA West Coast/WAIS) secured an impressive second-place finish, touching the wall with a time of 24.34 seconds. Following closely behind him, Damian Badenhorst (Rockingham/WAIS) secured a fourth-place finish, trailing by 0.15 seconds. Brinkworth and Badenhorst will use this race as valuable preparation, fine-tuning their speed and performance for the remainder of the week.
As each race unfolds, anticipation continues to build and our WA athletes seize every opportunity to translate their training into solid performances.
