Adelaide Brings Mixed Fortunes
A record twelve individual and three relay swimmers from the Geelong Swimming Club joined the cream of Australia’s junior swimmers, at the new Adelaide Aquatic centre, for the 2011 Australian Age Swimming Championships.
Tyler Parkinson was the only individual finalist in the 17/18 Years 200m Breaststroke. Tyler swam a best time in 2.26.38 in the heat to continue his success in this event at National level. This topped off a very good meet for him as he swam his first 53sec 100m Freestyle and an improved 2.11.27 in the 200IM.
Eliza Kol swam a very impressive time of 27.74 in the 14 Years 50m Freestyle and a 1.01.18 in the first leg of her 4×100 Freestyle Relay. Despite having six individual swims and a relay, Eliza also swam best times in the 100 Butterfly and the 200 Backstroke and equaled her 100 Backstroke. A fine performance.
Mitch Norton had a fantastic first Australian Age Championships with best times in the 200 Backstroke, the 100m Freestyle and the 50m Freestyle. Unfortunately he was unable to recover from a deep start in the 100m Backstroke and finished well outside his best. Deeply disappointed he commented that it would never happen again. Mitch saw this as an opportunity to learn and improve. In my view, “Embracing underperformance leads to greatness”.
Unfortunately Andrew McColl developed a strained calf muscle that made it very difficult for him to perform at his best. A real shame after an incredibly successful season. To his credit, Andrew sacrificed an individual swim for his relay.
Brock Norwood had two very good relay swims and a solid 100m Butterfly. He battled on in the 200m Butterfly but was hampered by a limited preparation due to illness.
Trent Richards swam a very powerful 50m Freestyle in 24.85sec.
Isobel Lambden is a great example of what persistence can achieve. Her determination to qualify for Nationals after a frustrating previous season due to an iron deficiency is to be commended. A best time in the 100m Backstroke, a solid swim in the 200m backstrokes and a fast relay swim topped off an excellent season.
Young swimmers Zac Hussain, Michaela Caldow, Luke Rush, Sean Beattie, Nathan Keating, Harry Kershaw, and Ayla Pearson will all benefit from their experience at this highest level. .
The Male 4×50 Medley relay of Zac Hussain (30.80 Bks; Luke Rush (33.11 Brs); Harry Kershaw (27.82 Bfly) and Sean Beattie (26.67 Fs) finished seventh. The Male 4×50 Freestyle relay of Harry Kershaw, Luke Rush, Sean Beattie and Nathan Keating all swam 26 sec to finish seventh but were disqualified.
The Female 4×100 Freestyle relay of Eliza Kol (1.01.18); Isobel Lambden (1.02.59); Michaela Caldow (1.02.42) and Mariah Csolle (1.03.39) finished twenty fifth.
The Male 4×100 Freestyle Relay of Tyler Parkinson(53.36 an Australian Open time); Andrew McColl (53.59); Brock Norwood (54.99) and Mitch Norton(54.71) won their heat and finished seventh overall. Trent Richards joined the older boys for ninth place in the Medley relay.
On behalf of our large team, I thank Team Managers, Peter Norton and Sandra Parkinson, for their support and assistance.
Our swimmers perform extremely well given that most only train half the sessions of swimmers at other clubs. Qualifying fifteen swimmers for the Australian Championships is a very good achievement but the Club must aim to have more swimmers in finals with a view to winning medals. To achieve this goal swimmers need to make a greater commitment to training, in an environment provided by coaches and parents, that produces excellence.
John Beckworth
Head Coach