Thirteen-year-old Han Zhang (Neptune) emerged as the new star
of Otago swimming by winning seven medals - four gold, a
silver and two bronze - at the New Zealand short-course
championships in Wellington this week.
Zhang, a pupil at John McGlashan College, won the boys aged
13 200m butterfly (2min 18.88sec), 50m breaststroke
(33.09sec), 100m breaststroke (1min 10.46sec) and 200m
breaststroke (2min 32.78sec).
He was the most successful of the 15 Neptune club swimmers
who won 16 medals - five gold, five silver and six bronze.
His silver medal was in the 100m butterfly (1min 04.15sec)
and the bronze medals in the 400m individual medley and the
200m individual medley.
Zhang's four gold medals were also Otago age-group records.
The most significant records were the 200m butterfly and 100m
breaststroke when he broke marks set by Sam Carradus in 1997.
The other gold medal by a Neptune club swimmer at the
championships was by Aleisha Ruske in the girls aged 14 200m
butterfly in 2min 26.03sec. She also won a bronze medal in
the 100m butterfly in 1min 6.16sec.
An open women's silver medal was won by Kate Godfrey in the
200m backstroke in 2min 12.70sec.
Godfrey also broke the Otago open short-course record in this
event and in the 50m backstroke in 29.86sec.
The other silver medals were won by Benjamin Gray in the boys
aged 16 200m butterfly in 2min 7.65sec, Jeremy Hopkins in the
boys aged 13 50m freestyle in 26.93sec and Yuriya Hiratani in
the boys 50m freestyle in 26.27sec.
The other bronze medals were won by Katie Kenneally in the
open women's 100m breaststroke (1min 10.66sec) and 200m
breaststroke (2min 33.59sec).
Hopkins won a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle and Ruske in
the 100m butterfly.
Phillip Baxter broke Craig Ford's 1989 Otago boys aged 14 and
15 record when coming fourth in the 200m breaststroke in 2min
27.63sec.
Jack Turner (Waves) won a silver medal in the boys aged 16
1500m in 16min 16.43sec.
Emmabeth Jensen (Waves) won bronze in the women's aged 15
800m in 9min 7.55sec.
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