The 2023 Australian Age Championships were held on the Gold Coast from April 7-15, 2023. This event saw an incredible display of talent and hard work from Western Australia's most talented young swimmers. A total of 192 athletes and 27 clubs travelled over to the East Coast to compete in the nine-day event. Western Australian swimmers won a total of 28 medals: 6 Gold, 11 Silver and 11 Bronze.
One of the standout swimmers of the championships Lucas Fackerell (Breakers, c: Harry Clark), winning two Gold medals, a Silver and a Bronze. He won Gold in both the Boys 14-15 years 1500m Freestyle and 800m Freestyle events with times of 16:14.23 and 8:29.85, respectively. He also took home a Silver medal in the Boys 15 years 200m Freestyle with a time of 1:55.82, and a Bronze in the Boys 15 years 400m Freestyle with a time of 04:07.41. Amazing work Lucas!
Sylvia Czajko (UWA West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) was another star of the event, who won two medals in the Girls 15 years category. She took home the Gold in the 100m Freestyle with an impressive time of 56.26 and Silver in the 50m Freestyle with a time of 25.68. Congratulations Sylvia!
Johann Szymanski (Highlanders, c: Ryan Steenkamp) also had a successful competition, winning a Gold medal in the Boys 16-18 800m Freestyle with a time of 8:03.41, as well as a Bronze medal in the Boys 17 years 400m Freestyle with a time of 3:54.22. Great job Johann!
Other outstanding performances included Braden Fyneman's (UWA West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) Gold medal in the Boys 16-18 1500m Freestyle with a time of 15:50.21, Alexander Sillitoe's (Southlake Dolphins, c: Stefano Di Bernardo) Gold medal in the Boys 16-18 50m Butterfly and a Silver medal in the Boys 15 years 50m Freestyle. Inez Miller's (St Hilda’s, c: Deb Jones) two Silver medals in the Girls 16 years 200m Freestyle, Girls 16 years 100m Backstroke and Bronze in the Girls 16 years 200m Backstroke event.
Jack Wicks (Rockingham, c: Ryan Spencer) crushed it with a Silver medal in the Boys 14-15 years 800m Freestyle with 8:58.12 and Bronze in the Boys 14-15 years 1500m Freestyle with 17:13.55. Isabel Sheldrick (St Hilda’s, c: Deb Jones) also made a splash with not one but two Bronze medals in the 15 years category. She clocked in with an impressive 1:02.56 in the 100m Backstroke and 2:19.67 in the 200m Backstroke.
Daniel Boshart (Scarborough Beach, c: Cam Hawthorn) won Silver in the Boys 17 years 100m Butterfly in a lightning fast time of 55.18 and Thomas Prowton (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) also won Silver in the Boys 17 years 100m Backstroke. Ingrid Blandford (Bunbury, c: Mickie Castieau) won Silver in the Girls 15-17 800m Freestyle with 9:08.83. Sean Alcorn (Peel Aquatic, c: Zoe Baker) snagged a Silver in the Boys 16 years 100m Butterfly and Xavier Collins (Westside Christchurch, c: Jon Harrison) secured Silver in the Boys 16 years 200m Freestyle with 1:52.79.
We also have a few Bronze medalists to recognise - Anouk Potter (Southside Penrhos Wesley, c: Eliza Stewart) in the Girls 13 years 100m Butterfly, Tom Wyatt (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) in the Boys 18 years 50m Backstroke, Lucy Porter (Westside Christchurch Aquatic, c: Will Greenwood) in the Girls 14 years 200m Breaststroke, Talia Wilkinson (St Hilda’s, c: Deb Jones) in the Girls 17 years 400m IM, Isabel Sheldrick (St Hilda's, c: Deb Jones) in the Girls 15 years 50m Backstroke and Samuel Hicks (Westside Christchurch Aquatic, c: Will Greenwood) in the Boys 15 years 50m Backstroke. Fantastic work to all!
Kwinana Swimming Club had three swimmers make the finals, which is the first time in 39 years. The three swimmers were Rebecca Tuitupou, Lucia Anderson and Brielle Dredge. A big shoutout to the club, competitors and Head Coach, Lucky Weerakkody.
For the first time in nearly 20 years, Newman Churchlands Swimming Club saw their swimmers, Jessica Bourke and Riley Suckling, compete at the championships.
It’s been eight years since Fremantle Port Swimming Club saw their swimmers qualify for Nationals and it’s fantastic to see they had two swimmers; Eva Longstaff and Zack Palandri qualify this year and competed at the event. Well done the club, competitors and Head Coach Carlos Chitao.
In addition to individual events, Western Australian teams also performed well in the state relays. The 13x14 Girls Freestyle Relay placed third with a team consisting of Heidi Gstaettner, Valentina Caminita, Megan Maley and Alice Massey. The 15x16 Girls Freestyle Relay also placed third with a team consisting of Sylvia Czajko, Bridgette Brodalka, Lian Bewsher and Inez Miller. The 16x17 Boys Freestyle Relay placed third with a team consisting of Sam Coveney, Zachary Mills, Alender Broadbent and Xavier Collins. Thank you to UWA West Coast’s Brett Tongue and Rockingham’s Ryan Spencer who were the coaches for the WA Relay Teams.
Fantastic to see Busselton Swimming Club (Head Coach Andrew Sexton) compete in a couple of club relays in the Girls 13-17 4x50 Medley Relay and Girls 13-17 4x100 Medley Relay with Violet Reynolds, Scarlett Riddle, Lily O’Meara and Brooklyn Rayne.
To the coaches of all 27 clubs involved in guiding our WA athletes, we want to send a huge congratulations for all of your hard work. You have played an integral role in shaping these remarkable swimmers, and we couldn't be more proud of all that they have achieved. And let's not forget about the volunteers and officials who lent their expertise and time to make this championship a success. We salute you!
To see the full results from the 2023 Australian Age Championships, click here.
