WA Swimmers Impress at National Age Championships

WAIS swimmers have returned some impressive medal winning performances on the opening two nights of competition at the 2014 Age National Championships in Sydney.

West Coast club member and WAIS scholarship holder Damian Fyfe – swimming from lane 9 – set the ball rolling on night one, by winning gold in the boys’ 16 years 200m butterfly in 2:01.21 ahead of Gold Coast based Dominic Richardson 2:01.49 and Theodoros Benehoutsos (2:03.06) from Melbourne Vicentre. Austin McAleese from Rockingham continued to improve on his time, finishing sixth in 2:06.62.

Later on night one, Fyfe went on to spearhead the West Coast team to a new Australian record in the boys’ 16 and under 4x100m medley relay. The team, which also comprised Alex Milligan, Alex Chin and Braga Verhage, touched the wall in 3:50.49 ahead of TSS Aquatics (3:53.8) and Trinity Grammar’A’ (3:54.43).

Commonwealth Games gold medallist and WAIS athlete Yolane Kukla was too quick in the 17-18 years 50m freestyle, winning her first title of the meet in a time of 25.16. The 18-year-old won the event in a time was quicker than the 25.39 she clocked at the Australian Swimming Championships in Brisbane earlier this month.

Open water swimmers Chelsea Gubecka blitzed the field in the girls’ 15 years 800m freestyle, dropping two seconds off the time she swam at Trials in Brisbane to win in 8:40.64. The 15-year-old won by more than 13 seconds ahead of Breakers club member and WAIS athleteGrace Hull who took silver in 8:53.68.

Damian Fyfebacked up his impressive performances from night one by taking out the boys’ 16 years 400m freestyle by half a body length in 3:54.82 on the second night of competition.

Fyfe went into the final favourite but faced a threat from Victorian Mitchell Davenport-Wright and the pair went head to head for most of the race. It was Fyfe, however, who reclaimed pole position going into the final turn and touched the wall first ahead of Davenport-Wright, who clocked 3:56.45, and Brisbane’s Max Carleton(3:56.79).

But the night belonged to another West Coast swimmer in WAIS athlete Tamsin Cookwho claimed WA’s second gold – and her second medal – of the night with a clear win in the girls’ 15 years 200m butterfly.

Cook looked dominant from the start leading into the first turn but really turned it on in the final 50 to win by more than two seconds in 2:12.61. Queenslander Chelsea Gubecka was second in (2:14.93) with New South Wales swimmer Brittany Barnes taking bronze in 2:17.70. Western Sprint’s Darian Murraywas sixth in 2:18.97.

It was Cook’s second time on the dais for the night after she won silver in the girls’ 15 years 100m freestyle in 56.51. Another West Coast swimmer Hadley Lindsayjust missed out on a medal finishing fourth in 57.28.

-SwimmingWA