Record Double for Groenewald
Swimming Australia
Published: Dec 24, 2012 09:03:11 AM Updated: Mar 19, 2013 09:25:50 AM
Nicholas Groenewald has continued to shine on night four of the Victorian Age Championships, breaking two records. The winner of a staggering six gold medals at this year’s Australian Age Championships in Brisbane, Groenewald rewrote his own Victorian All Comers record in the Boys 15 Years 100m Backstroke; a record he broke on Tuesday during the Boys 15 Years 4x100m medley relay for his club Nunawading. 2008 Olympic silver medallist Andrew Lauterstein had held the record of 58.03 before this week’s Championships, but Groenewald’s time of 57.40 sees him now credited with the honour.
The 2011 vicsport Junior Athlete of the Years’ night only got better when he smashed Mack Horton’s Victorian record of 4:34.77 in the Boys 15 Years 400m Individual Medley. Melbourne Vicentre’s Mitchell Davenport –Wright also went under Horton’s time, but Groenewald’s impressive 4:33.87 saw him take the title and Victorian record.
Stung by losing his record to Groenewald, Horton was clinical in the Boys 16 Years 200m Freestyle shooting away to take the title in 1:51.13 Western Australia’s Andrew Walker (1:55.84) and Nicholas Brown (1:57.58) battled on bravely for second and third.
In other results, Sian Whittaker had a memorable night winning Victorian Age titles in the Girls 15 Years 100m Backstroke and 400m Individual Medley. Her win in the 400 IM was particularly impressive with the Surrey Park swimmer coming from behind to steal the title from the Victorian Institute of Sport’s Karlene Pircher. Initially Whittaker looked to have the race under control, but Pircher mounted a spirited comeback to turn the tables and lead with two laps to go. Pircher then looked the winner but Whittaker made a final lunge at the wall to take the victory by 0.2 over Pircher (4:58.92).
The interstate and international swimmers continued to impresses with New Zealander Bruin Maunder (2:20.82) getting the better of Wyndam City’s Joshua Furnival (2:2.01) and Hobart’s Jacob Vincent (2:22.28) in the Boys 13 Years 200m Butterfly. Maunder’s teammate Bertie Bassett-Foss wasn’t as fortunate and was denied a Victorian title by New South Welshmen Jayden Hutchinson who touched the New Zealander out by .02 in the Boys 14 Years 400m Freestyle.
Another New South Welshmen, Andrew Newling, was too slick for Victoria’s finest in the Boys 12 Years 200m Individual Medley, slamming into the wall in 2:27.15 ahead of Jake Duggan (2:28.63) and Alexander Tsebelis (2:29.50).
The Victorian Age Championships continues tomorrow with 28 events set to take place at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
Over 1400 athletes from 114 swimming clubs will take part over six days of competition making it the biggest event on the Victorian swimming calendar for aspiring young swimmers aged 11years-18 years.
For full results please visit www.swimmingvictoria.org.au.
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