Cook Sets Blistering Time in Age Championship Win

WAIS Swimmer Tamsin Cook has made a big splash at the 2014 Australian Age Championships in Sydney taking gold in the 400m freestyle.

The 15-year-old dominated the final to win gold in an All-Comers record of 4:09.29 – a time that almost broke Olympian Hayley Lewis’ 24-year-old age group record (4:08.89).

It was Cook’s second gold and third medal of the meet after she won the 15 years 200m butterfly and took silver in the 100m freestyle.

A clearly delighted Cook said she was happy to have executed her race plan under pressure.

“It’s just amazing,” the West Coast Swimming Club teenager said after the race. “I’m so happy with that. I was up against some really great girls and I definitely didn’t discount any of them but I had to stick to my own race plan because we all work differently.”

Tonight’s final was really only ever between Cook, Queenslander Chelsea Gubecka and Breakers’ swimmer and fellow WAIS scholarship holder Grace Hull. However, it was Cook who led from the start and held onto it heading into the final turn when she fired away from the rest of the field to win comfortably ahead of Gubecka (4:15.66) and Hull (4:19.19).

However, Cook said she had no idea she was so close to Lewis’ record, set at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.

“I had no idea really what time I was going to go,” she said. “It was really tough but I’m really, really happy. The last 100 I just pushed myself as hard as I could and just kept reaching for the wall.”

WAIS athlete Yolane Kukla won a bronze medal in the 17-18 years 200m freestyle in 1:59.49 fighting hard in the final lap to grab the last spot on the dais. Kukla got off to a terrific start and was leading until the 150m mark until Carlile swimmer Ami Matsuo and Queenslander Leah Neale turned on their engines. It was Neale who produced a late surge to take gold in 1:58.28 ahead of Matsuo (1:59.44). Perth City swimmer Brianna Throssell was fourth in 1:59.73.

In other results, West Coast swimmerBraga Verhagewas sixth in the final of the 16 years 100m backststroke in 57.55. However later in the evening he picked up a silver medal with teammates Damian Fyfe (WAIS), Alex Chinand Alexander Freeman in the boys’ 16 and under 4x100m freestyle relay in 3:30.88, finishing behind St Peters A whose time 3:29.38 was a new Australian age group record.

-SwimmingWA