Swimming: Ryan, Trembath two of Otago's brightest medal hopes

A strong contingent of Otago competitors is set to compete at the national age-group championships starting in Wellington today.

Isobel Ryan (Oamaru) and Andrew Trembath (Neptune) are two of the biggest medal hopes in the 24-strong group, which also includes Devon Familton, Kou Kitahara (both Neptune) and Mila Jojic (Queenstown), all winners of six gold medals at the Otago championships in January.

Caitlin Deans, Cecilia Crooks (both Neptune) and Tame Govaerts (Zenith) will also go into the championships with confidence, having each won five gold medals at Moana Pool in January.

However, they will face a stiff test with more than 550 swimmers from across the country competing in the five-day championships at the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre.

In addition to medals being on the line, the championships double as a qualifying meet for the biennial world junior championships in Singapore at the end of August, and the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa in September.

World junior 50m backstroke champion Gabrielle Fa'amausili (15), of Auckland, who also won the national title last month, is one of the most promising swimmers in the country.

She and fellow 15-year old Bobbi Gichard (Hawkes Bay), who will compete in the world championships in Russia in July and August, are red-hot favourites to claim gold in their specialist events this week.

Gichard won the 100m and 200m backstroke titles at the national championships last month, and she and Fa'amausili hold 15 national age-group records between them.

Also competing are members of the New Zealand team which won medals at the recent Australian age-group championships, including 14-year-olds Mya Rasmussen (Manawatu) and Sam McKenzie (Nelson), Annabelle Paterson (16), ofAuckland, and 13-year-olds Chelsey Edwards (Hutt Valley) and Joshua Gilbert (Stratford).

Heats will be held each day from 9am. The finals start daily at 6pm.

 


 

NZ age-group
Otago swimmers

Ben Carr, Geoffrey Kemp, Cecilia Crooks, Kou Kitahara, Caitlin Deans, Nick Pryde, Jack Divers, Courtland Ellis, Gabrielle Trotter, Devon Familton, Saskia Turner, Matthew Gillespie, Danielle Walsh, Tame Govaerts, Samuel Wardhaugh, Tanisha Keach, Han Zhang, Ella-Rose Lawrence, Tandia Gooch, Jaxson MacDonald-Piner, Isobel Ryan, Mila Jojic, Andrew Trembath, Tanisha Keach.


 

 

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