The final sessions of the Hancock Prospecting Australian Virtual Short Course were completed in Hobart, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney this afternoon and evening after sessions in Melbourne were completed on Saturday.
Unlike previous sessions where world records rolled in at a frenetic pace, the final night just saw the one world record fall as North Sydney’s Matthew Levy (SB6, 1:21.25) added his second world record of the meet to his tally after he took out the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-class. USC Spartan’s Blake Cochrane (SB7) and Carina League’s Jake Michel (SB14) took second and third in 1:15.11 and 1:05.49, respectively.
Teenage swimming sensation Lani Pallister (15:28.33) claimed an Australian record in the Women’s 1500m Freestyle – her second for the meet after picking up the 800m free record on Saturday – ahead of Noosa’s Kareena Lee in second position in 15:34.31 and TSS Aquatics’ Madeleine Gough claiming third in 15:37.38.
USC Spartans Kaylee McKeown continued her superb form into the final evening claiming yet another top spot – this time in the Women’s 100m Backstroke. Brisbane performances took out the podium spots as McKeown posted 55.68 for the win, with her Dolphins teammate Minna Atherton (Moreton Bay) claiming second position in 56.36 and St Peters Western young gun Mollie O’Callaghan picking up third in 56.76. McKeown also took out the Women’s 100m Individual Medley to see her finish the meet with an impressive four wins.
In the splash and dash, Knox Pymble’s Cate Campbell (23.68) came out on top in the Women’s 50m Freestyle ahead of Griffith University’s Emma McKeon (23.87) – who finished the meet with four wins – and Marion’s Madison Wilson (24.18). In the men’s race, UWA West Coast’s Ashton Brinkworth (21.30) claimed the win following his swim in Perth, while Nunawading’s Matthew Temple (21.37) grabbed second from Melbourne and TSS Aquatic’s Cameron McEvoy (21.39) the third spot, swimming out of Brisbane.
The multi-class freestyle sprint saw USC Spartan’s Katja Dedekind (27.39) notch up another win for the virtual meet when she claimed the Women’s 50m Freestyle in front of Melbourne Vicentre’s Ashleigh McConnell (29.11) and SLC Aquadot’s Amy Cook (28.49).
The men dived in immediately after and it was USC Spartan’s Benjamin Hance (S14) with the spoils in 23.32, beating Auburn’s Ricky Betar (S14) who touched in Sydney in 23.85 and Melbourne Propulsion’s Nicholas Layton (S15) finishing in third in 23.39.
The pace was hot in Brisbane on the final night, cementing the top three positions in the Men’s 200m Breaststroke where Chandler’s Zac Stubblety-Cook (2:03.94) touched in first place ahead of SOPAC’s Matt Wilson (2:04.05) and USC Spartan’s Jake Packard (2:08.63).
Prize money was on the line during the meet for athletes and coaches thanks to Patron, Mrs Gina Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting, with final results confirmed in the coming days.
Full results of all sessions from all five states can be found here.
