Swimming: NZ selection great birthday present

It was a happy 20th birthday for Katie Kenneally (Neptune) on Monday when she received an email confirming her selection for the World University Games in China.

"It's cool to make my first New Zealand team for open international competition," Kenneally said. "It's an exciting time."

Kenneally (20), a third-year consumer food science student at the University of Otago, is part of the 24-strong New Zealand university swimming team, which also includes Andy Adair-coached Troy Balvert (Waves), who will compete in the 800m and 1500m freestyle after finishing fourth in both events at the New Zealand open championships in Auckland.

Kenneally will compete in three breaststroke events: 50m (best time 33.10sec), 100m (1min 12sec) and 200m (2min 34.19sec).

A member of the Neptune club, she gained selection after her consistent performances at the New Zealand championships in Auckland earlier this month.

She won a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke in 2min 35.87sec and a bronze medal in the 50m breaststroke in 33.48sec.

Kenneally backed up the medals by coming fourth in the individual medley and sixth in the 100m breaststroke.

Her best performance was in the 200m breaststroke that was worth 726 Fina points and clinched her selection in the team for China.

Kenneally is a member of the Otago Swimming Coaching Academy (Osca) and has been coached by Gennadiy Labara for the last four years.

"Gennadiy knows how to make us swim fast," she said. "He puts a strong focus on technique and the speed comes from that."

Kenneally is the first swimmer from the Osca squad to gain selection in an open New Zealand team since Labara became coach four years ago.

Her six days a week training includes 10 sessions in the pool, three sessions in the gymnasium and one dry land session.

She is also part of the Academy of Otago programme that has produced several New Zealand representatives over the past two years.

Kenneally first came to prominence at national level two years ago when she won five medals - four gold and one silver - at the New Zealand age-group championships in Wellington.

She followed this up by winning two gold medals and a bronze medal at the open championships. Later that year she won three gold and a bronze medal at the New Zealand spring short-course championships in Christchurch.

Kenneally has previously represented New Zealand at the transtasman under-18 meet in 2008 and at the Australian Youth Olympics in 2009.

The World University Games are held every two years under the auspices of the International University Sports Federation.

The games are the second-largest global high-performance multi-sports event after the Olympics.

More than 8500 competitors and officials from 155 nations attended the 2005 Games in Izmir, Turkey. The New Zealand delegation in 2005 was the largest sent, comprising 111 competitors and officials from eight sports.

The games have been held every two years since the inaugural tournament in Turin, Italy, in 1959. New Zealand has won nine medals at the games, five of them in 2005.

This year's event will be held in Shenzhen, China, on August 12-23.