Swimming: Ryan in top form at short course champs

Oamaru swimmer Isobel Ryan (18) smashed five Otago records at the New Zealand short course championships in Wellington last week.

Ryan (Oamaru Swimming Club) set open marks in the 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke, 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle (twice).

She broke Em Jensen's 2011 50m freestyle record in the preliminary final, clocking 26.03sec, before beating her own record in the final, when she finished second to Auckland's Gabrielle Fa'amausili in 25.87sec.

Her 28.89sec finish in the 50m backstroke was enough to beat Kate Godfrey's record from 2012, the year Godfrey won 12 medals, including four gold, at the national short course championships.

Ryan shaved .02sec off Aleisha Ruske's 50m butterfly record, finishing in 28.65sec on her way to silver.

The St Kevin's College pupil finished by topping Carina Doyle's 2013 100m freestyle record, knocking .06sec off it and finishing in 56.56sec.

Ryan was one of 13 Otago swimmers who combined for 45 medals (18 gold, 15 silver and 12 bronze) last week.

Her individual haul included three golds and two silvers in her age group, while she added a silver in the open women's 50m freestyle.

A disqualification for Andrew Trembath (18) in the 200mbackstroke final for not breaking the surface with his head by the 15m mark took a gold off the tally.

The successful swimmers will have a breather before the South Island championships in Timaru on September 27-28.

 -by Rober Van Royen 

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