Kukla Bags Three Age Titles at National Champs
The 2014 Australian Age Swimming Championships continued over the Easter break in Sydney, with more encouraging results for WAIS swimmers.
WAIS swimmer Yolane Kuklatopped off a stellar week by claiming her third gold medal at the Championships after reclaiming the 17-18 year girls 100m freestyle title in blistering form, taking more than a second off her time from last year to win gold in 54.30.
The Arena swimmer – who won the title in 2013 in 55.34 – had an explosive start and maintained her lead for the two-lap race with Perth City rival Brianna Throssell chasing her down in the next lane. However, it was New South Wales swimmer Ami Matsu who touched for silver in 54.78 with Queenslander Chelsea Gillett taking bronze in 55.42 ahead of Throssell (55.66).
There was similarly hard-fought bronze medal for WAIS athlete Tamsin Cook in the girls’ 15 years 100m fly. Cook looked to have to settle for fourth but dug deep in the final 25m to chase down Victorian Stephanie Whan and grab the third medal in 1:01.73 behind Queenslander Lucia Lassman (1:00.67) and Victorian Mikaela Cornelissen (1:00.73). Western Sprint’s Darian Murray was fifth in 1:02.24.
West Coast club member and WAIS scholarship holder Damian Fyfe will return home from Sydney with two gold and two silver medals, having rounded out his meet with a personal best of 2:05.56 to finish sixth in the 16 year boys’ 200m backstroke.
West Coast swimmer Tamsin Cook came close to breaking another age group record after taking six seconds off her personal best on her way to winning silver in the 15 year girls 200m freestyle 1:59.86.
Cook, who set an all-comers record on her way to winning gold in the 400m freestyle earlier in the week, was quickest off the blocks and stayed with Queenslander Shayna Jack, the fastest qualifier by more than two seconds. However there was no beating Jack who took the touch in a new Australian age group record of 1:59.67. The fast paced race also saw Breakers and WAIS athlete Grace Hull clock a PB of 2:06.49 to place sixth while Cook’s West Coast teammate Hadley Lindsay finished eighth in 2:06.87
There was silver too for Damian Fyfe in the 16 years 100m butterfly – although he came agonisingly close to winning his third gold. Fyfe looked to have the title in the bag until the final 25m when he faced a sudden charge from Queenslander Dominic Richardson. The West Coast swimmer dug deep but it wasn’t enough to stop Richardson claiming the title in 54.80. Fyfe – a gold medallist in the 200m butterfly and 400m freestyle – touched the wall in 54.98 ahead of Victorian Mitchell Davenport-Wright (55.56) to win his second silver medal of the meet.
Yolane Kukla spearheaded a medal blitz on the fourth night of competition at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, winning the first of seven medals for WA in the 17-18 year girls’ 100m butterfly.
The 18-year-old had a relatively slow start by her standards but made up for it by taking control of the race early on and hanging on until the wall to take the age title in 59.11. Perth City teenager Brianna Throssell was second in 59.20 with bronze going to Victorian Christina Licciardi in 59.93
It was Kukla’s third medal of the meet after taking gold in the 50m and bronze in the 200m freestyle events while Throssell now has two silvers and a bronze medal to her name.
Despite winning two gold medals at the Championships, there was some disappointment for Damian Fyfe in the 16 years 200m freestyle. The West Coast swimmer got off to a flying start and looked to have the race in the bag until Queenslander Samuel Young turned on his engine in the final 25m to take the gold in 1:51.41. Fyfe, who has won gold in the 200m butterfly and 400m freestyle at this meet, was second in 1:51.44 ahead of bronze medallist Max Carleton from Brisbane in 1:52.02.
Following the conclusion of this meet, a group of successful age group swimmers will be nominated for selection onto the Youth Olympic and Junior Pan Pacific Championship teams to compete internationally later this year.
-SwimmingWA