After much anticipation, the 2019 Swimming WA State Short Course Swimming Championships have begun. The first session took place on Friday, 6 September 2019 at HBF Stadium with a total of 185 competitors from 27 clubs taking to the water.
The Championships were kick-started by an incredible performance from distance star Ben Roberts (Breakers, c: Bud McAllister, WAIS) as he had his maiden sub-15-minute performance, touching the wall in 14:59.64. In doing so, he broke a 17-year-old WA Residential Record previously held by Olympian Travis Nederpelt.
Holly Barratt (Rockingham, c: Will Scott, WAIS) continued the historical night, dominating event 4, the Women’s Open 50m Butterfly storming home in a time of 25.62. Barratt’s time broke her own WA All Comer’s and WA Residential record that was set at last year’s State Short Course Championships.
The Women’s 200m Backstroke saw an incredible performance from Arna Cooper (Perth City, c: Matt Magee) who swam a 2:10.84 to claim the state title. Not only was this Cooper’s personal best, but also a WA Residential Record. Cooper, who only recently moved to Western Australia has already begun making waves, adding to the depth of WA Backstroke talent.
Team Korea’s Gyu Im Song put on a short course master class in the Men’s Open 100m Individual Medley storming to victory in 53.91. The residential state champion was Alex Milligan (UWA West Coast, c: Michael Palfery, WAIS) who had more speed on top of the water than the Korean however was beaten on the turns and streamlines.
The Korean team are visiting Perth on a training camp and have six competitors competing throughout the championships.
The battle for the 2019 State Team selection is heating up with close races between all eligible age groups in the 200m Backstroke and 1500m Freestyle. The fight for selection will only get more exciting as we close in on the 2019 State Team Championships. Team WA being announced after the final session on Sunday, 8 September.
After an exhilarating night one of competition, the meet will continue for the remainder of the weekend with even more stars set to take to the water. Tickets can be purchased at the gate, with the second session commencing at 9:00 am on Saturday, 7 September.
We hope to see you there!
