Evans and Mainstone Compete in Rome
Young WAIS swimming athletes Blair Evans and Rhys Mainstone competed in their world championship debuts last week at the FINA event in Rome, Italy.
Evans – who burst onto the national stage with a stunning performance in the 800m freestyle at this year’s national championships – competed alongside fellow Australian Melissa Gorman in the 800m freestyle, but was unable to qualify for the final after clocking a time of 8:38.10mins. Evans in her first senior international meet was the 18th fastest qualifier.
WAIS scholarship holder Rhys Mainstone competed in the 10km open water swim in Rome, finishing a very credible 21st. Mainstone was stuck in the middle of the pack and was unable to extract himself for an assault on the top ten, but will have picked up valuable experience racing against the best open water swimmers in the world.
Evans and Mainstone – who are both coached by WAIS swimming coach Matt Magee – picked up awards at the recent 2009 WA Swimmer of the Year Awards. Evans was bestowed the Swimmers Swimmer Award, whilst Mainstone received the Open Water Swimmer of the Year.