Madison Wills and Harry Summers were standouts, winning 11 and 10 medals respectively, while the Oamaru swim club was the top club.
Wills’ haul included 10 golds as she emerged as the leading swimmer from the Mako Zone, which encompasses the South Island. The 12-year-old Kiwi club swimmer won the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke, 100m and 200m butterfly, 100m, 200m and 400m individual medley and the 200m and 400m freestyle. She also won silver in the 50m butterfly.
On top of that, Wills broke two Otago short-course records in the 12 year girls in the 50m and 200m breaststroke. The 200m breaststroke had been the oldest unbroken Otago record, set in 1985.
An Otago Girls’ High School pupil, she swims six times a week and has been coached by Simon Cook for the past four years. She is set to compete at the national age-group championships in two weeks.
Meanwhile, 10-year-old John McGlashan College pupil Harry Summers won seven gold medals, two silver and one bronze. The Taieri swimmer’s golds came in the 50 and 100m butterfly, 100 and 200m individual medley, 100 and 200m freestyle and 200m breaststroke. He also managed silver in the 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke, and bronze in the 50m backstroke. Summers has been coached by Cook for two years and trains four times a week.
Others to win medals were Abi Gibson, who won four; Jemma Wilson; Ryan Dey, who won two; and Ella-Rose Crooks.
The meeting was part of the new zonal-based junior festivals, which are in their first year. They came as a result of a review of the competitive pathway for swimmers in the country and have seen a large increase in participation for swimmers aged 12 and under.
