The first day of the 2019 SunSmart Junior Short Course Championships commenced this morning, Saturday 21 September at HBF Stadium. A total of 461 junior swimmers were set for competition, spread out across 39 clubs to compete in their dedicated age groups for a chance to win a medal and stand tall on the podium in front of a huge crowd!
There were some outstanding performances today across the board, some of the highlights include;
The meet started with a cracking battle in the Boys 11 – 13 Years 400m Freestyle, with Charlie Hodge (UWA West Coast) claiming gold in 4:22.04 after a dominant second half of the race. Hodge, who has entered with a huge program throughout the two-day meet, went on to win 6 golds from 6 races, in the first day alone.
Event 33 saw an incredible effort from St Hilda's A-Team in the Girl's 11 – 12 Years 4x50m Medley Relay as they broke the WA All-Comers, WA All Time and WA Residential records touching home in 2:09.23. A monumental breakthrough for the young swimmers, especially for their lead off backstroker, Isabella Russell (St Hilda's) who managed to take down an individual record in the process. Russell touched the wall in 32.34, breaking the WA Residential Record which has stood since 2003.
Continuing the record-breaking efforts, Bridgette Brodalka (Breakers) swam out of her skin in the 11-year-old Girls 50m Freestyle finishing in an incredible 27.89. Not only did Brodalka drop half a second off her personal best time, but she managed to also break the WA All Comer, WA All Time and WA Residential State Records, breaking National Champion Kate Harrison's (Westside Christchurch) record from 2015.
Southside Penrhos Wesley's, Nicholas Swiericzuk also had a great first day of the meet, claiming gold in the Boys 9-year-old 100m Backstroke, 100m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly. In addition, he managed to swim personal best times in all of his races. With four races left at the championships, keep your eye out for Swiericzuk tomorrow and going forward through his young career.
After a long and thrilling day of competition, we return to HBF Stadium tomorrow for a 9 am start to continue the short course action, and see which junior have mastered their starts and turns.
Tickets can be purchased at the at door, on the concourse, limited numbers of programmes remain for sale so make sure you scoop one up early!
We hope to see you there!
Swimming WA
Results attached below.
