Swimming: Coach moved by Godfrey's fine double

OSCA coach Gennadiy Labara did the unexected yesterday - a "high five" with his top female swimmer, Kate Godfrey.

Labara coached in the Ukraine before immigrating to New Zealand and Eastern Europeans were not meant to display emotions under Communist rule.

But there was good reason for Labara to break his normal stoic approach because Godfrey had dominated the best swimmers in the South Island when winning the senior women's 100m and 200m backstroke double at the Otago and Canterbury swimming championships at Moana Pool.

Godfrey (18) won the 100m in 1min 05.97sec and the 200m in 2min 19.70sec.

Both times were close to the Otago records she set at the New Zealand open championships last year.

Godfrey beat Templeton's Ebony Maikuku by 8sec seconds in the 200m. She went out fast and was in front when 50m was reached in 32sec and had a body length on the field at halfway.

Godfrey came home in 34sec over the last 50m to win by four body lengths.

"It felt good," Godfrey said. "I am in heavy training at the moment and was happy to get close to my best times."

The other top Otago performance came from Braden Doyle (Waves) who retained his senior men's 100m (54.78sec) and 200m (1min 56.53sec) freestyle titles.

Doyle (20), an economics student at the University of Otago, has been a member of coach Andy Adair's Waves squad for the last six years.

He finished strongly in the last lap of the 200m when he pulled back the 2sec lead of his training partner, Rhys Applegarth.

Doyle dominated the Canterbury swimmers in the 200m but realised he still has work to do when three Canterbury swimmers beat him in the 100m. That race was dominated by Cameron Simpson (Templeton) who won by nearly 2sec in 52.47sec.

"He is an a class of his own," Doyle admitted after the 100m race yesterday.

Simpson dominated the sprint events and was the best swimmer of the meet. He also gave a lesson to Otago's record-breaker, Kurt Crosland (Neptune), when he beat him in the 50m butterfly in a time of 25.68sec. Crosland was timed at 26.63sec.

Simpson's time was close to the Otago record of 25.51sec swum by double Olympic gold medallist Danyon Loader in 1993.

Crosland gained his fourth Otago record at the championships with his heat time of 26.22sec in the 50m backstroke.

Jeremy Hopkins (Neptune) came within a whisker of a record when he won the boys aged 12 and 13 100m freestyle in 58.14sec.

Applegarth (Waves) set the record at 58.13sec in 2004.

Andrew Trembath (QE2) won Canterbury titles in the boys aged 14 and 15 100m (1min 04.45sec) and 200m( 2min 20.37sec) backstroke, 200m individual medley (2min 23.43sec), 50m (28.36sec) and 100m (1min 05.09sec) butterfly.

His home was affected by the Christchurch earthquakes and he is shifting to Dunedin with his parents and will join the Osca squad.

Chris Dickie (Waves) continued his good form when he won Otago titles in the 50m (28.43sec) and 100m (1min 02.13sec) in the men's aged 14 and 15 butterfly.

One of the best under-age races came in the girls aged 14 and 15 100m butterfly when Aleisha Ruske (Neptune) beat Sophie Gibson (Queenstown) in 1min 06.88sec. Gibson was timed at 1min 08.79sec. Ruske also edged out Gibson in the 50m butterfly in a time of 30.13sec.

Gibson won the 200m backstroke in 2min 32.03sec and club-mate Patrick Harris the boys 200m backstroke in the same grade in 2min 27.58sec.

It was also close in the 200m freestyle in the same grade when Isobel Ryan (Oamaru) won in 2min 05.01sec from Lulu Schneiders (Waves) who clocked 2min 05.73sec.

Sophie Fairbairn (Wanaka) qualified for the national junior championships in three breaststroke events when competing in the girls aged 12 and 13 grade.

Her best performances were to win the 50m in 39.62sec from club-mate Kenzie Findlay (40.77sec) and the 100m in 1min 26.06sec. Findlay won the 50m butterfly in 32.64sec and the 100m freestyle in 1min 04.93sec.