It was an exhilarating finale to the World Aquatics Championships, especially for the young gun Iona Anderson, as the 4x100m medley relay capped off a sensational competition. Western Australia's Anderson and Brianna Throssell won gold for their country alongside Abbey Harkin and Shayna Jack.
The 18-year-old had already made a name for herself by winning double silver medals in the 50m and 100m backstroke earlier last week, but with this latest achievement, she has gone above and beyond, and it will forever be a memorable moment for her.
Anderson's strong starting backstroke leg set the pace for the team, putting them in second position behind Team Canada. Harkin was next to dive in for the breaststroke leg, followed by Throssell for the butterfly leg.
It was Jack who swam the final leg for Australia, with the team still chasing Sweden who had taken the lead. In the first 50m, Jack was tightly swimming with Canada's Taylor Ruck, but on the final stretch, she pulled through to bring Australia to gold. The team touched the wall in a blistering time of 3:55.98, narrowly edging out Sweden (3:56.35) and Canada (3:56.43).
As Anderson returns home tomorrow to continue her training in preparation for the Australian Trials in June, she can do so with confidence from her incredible performances at the World Championships.
