The 2024 Hancock Prospecting WA Junior Short Course Championships at HBF Stadium concluded on September 1. Over 540 young athletes from 41 clubs across the state competed.
Arekah Paki (Rockingham) dominated the boy's 12yrs 100m backstroke, clocking a 1:10.41, slashing over two seconds from his previous personal best. Jonathan Booth (2nd) and Isaac Lam (3rd) followed behind. Paki's performance didn’t stop there; in the 100m breaststroke, he again shaved more than two seconds off his time, finishing just 0.06 seconds behind Riverton’s Nathaniel Yet, who took home the gold with a time of 1:17.46.
Mia-Maria Gstaettner (Highlanders) claimed the championship junior title in the 800m freestyle, touching the wall at 9:30.30, a nearly ten-second improvement on her personal best. 11-year-old Amelia McIvor (South Lake Dolphins) shattered her personal best by over 16 seconds in the same event, finishing at 9:59.10. Gstaettner competed in an impressive 17 events over the weekend, including the 400m freestyle, clocking a 5:25.61, shaving off four seconds from her previous best.
Aaden Kettle (Guildford & Kalamunda) was on fire during the Championships. In the boy’s 13-year-old 800m freestyle, Kettle obliterated his previous best by almost 30 seconds, winning gold with a time of 9:15.11. He continued his winning streak in the 200m breaststroke, securing second place with a time of 2:39.43, an astonishing 23-second improvement. Australind’s Jay Pfoeffer, who took gold in this event, also achieved significant personal bests in the 200m backstroke and 400m IM.
10-year-old Angelina Beckx (Breakers) dominated the girl’s 200m breaststroke and 200m IM, setting new personal bests in both events. Beckx’s performance throughout all 15 of her events earned her a spot among the top five ranked swimmers of the meet.
In the multi class events, Tahlee Cam S19 (Australind) delivered an outstanding performance in the girl’s 100m freestyle, slashing over 12 seconds off her best. On the boy’s side, Ethan Peake S17 (Mandurah) impressed in the 50m breaststroke, taking more than 10 seconds off his previous best, while his brother Liam Peake S9 secured second place.
