Mainstone to battle Australia's best for Barcelona selection
Swimming Western Australia
Published: Feb 7, 2013 07:24:43 PM
From Friday February 8 to Sunday February 10 over 470 swimmers from 129 clubs will descend on Point Wolstoncroft Sport and Recreation Centre, Lake Macquarie to take part in the 2013 Australian Open Water Swimming Championships.
Among the competitors will be dual Olympic marathon swimmer Melissa Gorman, Olympic debutant in the 1500m freestyle Jarrod Poort and seasoned open water siblings Codie and Trent Grimsey who will all be battling it out for a place on the FINA World Championship Open Water team bound for Barcelona in July this year.
Poort and the Grimseys will face tough competition this year, in the form of men’s open water 10km reigning Australian champion from 2011 and 2012, Rhys Mainstone.
Mainstone will be in full confidence for a three-peat of titles, having recently accounted for Trent Grimsey on home soil, so to speak, winning the 10km swim at last month’s BHP Biliton Aquatic Super Series event in Perth.
The national champion’s coach Mel Tantrum said following that victory, that the race had been preparation and indication for the world championship selection race.
"Rhys’ focus is on World Championship trials which are in NSW in three weeks,” Tantrum said
"The point was to see where we’re at, and it was great to see positive results."
Following the success of the 2012 Australian Open Water Championships held in Perth, the strength of WA’s open water swimming fraternity has increased significantly. Olympic marathon swimmer Heidi Gan, 2012 Australian Champion and recent NWS State Championships gold medallist Brett Fielding, last year’s bronze medalists Simon Huitenga, Grace Hull and Rebecca Robinson will be amongst the 38 competitors from 13 different clubs from WA going head to head with other states for championship glory.
The Championships will kick off with a Swimming Australia Junior Excellence clinic and 2.5km swim on Friday with the men and women’s 10km and 5km events to be held on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
For more event information visit www.swimming.org.au
For results visit the Swimming WA facebook page.
Upcoming Events
