Erika Fairweather and Caitlin Deans showed their class as the national short-course swimming championships concluded in Hamilton on Saturday.
Both claimed open medals in the 200m and 800m races, Fairweather breaking a handful of records in the process.
It was an enthralling 800m race that best showed the pair’s dominance.
Fairweather led Deans narrowly the whole way. Her time of 8min 25.61sec was an Otago open short-course record, as well as a national 16-years one.
Yet Deans remained right there. The only time she fell more than a second behind Fairweather was at the finish when she clocked 8min 26.74sec.
It was good enough to leave her 7sec ahead of third-placed Hayley McIntosh, from Auckland.
Fairweather was similarly impressive in the 200m race.
Her time of 1min 55.23sec took nearly a second off her national 16-years record, as well as again setting an Otago open record.
It left her 4sec ahead of Heretaunga Sundevils’ Emma Godwin, who finished second, 0.08sec ahead of Deans in third.
The duo also combined with Esme Paterson and Natalie Hutchens to claim bronze for Neptune in the 4x50m freestyle relay.
Ezekiel Pine also finished the week well.
He swam a time of 2min 01.74sec to claim bronze in the 200m backstroke, as well as 25.57sec to finish third in the 50m backstroke.
