Gilbert Completes Clean Sweep
The penultimate day of racing at the 2024 Apollo Projects NZ Short Course Swimming Championships was filled with some outstanding performances and close finishes. The crowd had many opportunities to show their appreciation for performances in the pool, with another qualification time for the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) and bag of record-breaking performances.
All eyes were on Josh Gilbert (Club 37) in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke final as he looked to complete a clean sweep of the breaststroke events. Having secured the World Aquatics “A” time in the 200m earlier in the week, he was hoping to improve upon his impressive heat swim. He established a clear lead from the start, surfacing ahead of the field. Gilbert looked strong at halfway to be more than a second ahead, before he left it all in the pool over the final lap. Gilbert (57.57) secured his second “A” time for Budapest and second NZ Record of the meet by breaking Glenn Snyder’s mark from 2014 by 0.1 seconds. Gilbert dominated the race throughout to be more than three seconds ahead of James Slessor (Waitakere – 1:00.63) and Blair Helms (North Shore – 1:01.92) on the podium.
It marked the completion of a big week for Gilbert, who expressed what his performances in the pool mean to him.
“Feel like it’s been a long time coming, been chasing an “A” time for quite some time now. Really pleased to get two in one week. 14 years in and feel like I’m just getting started.”
Ariel Muchirahondo (Swim Rotorua) continued his outstanding form by winning his first national title in open age racing. The 15-year-old had been impressing with every performance at the championships, with the Men’s 200m Butterfly his best yet. Coming through the heats, Muchirahondo broke his own NZ Age Record by 0.37 seconds (2:00.37). However, he saved his best for the final under the big lights. Blair Helms set the early pace, before Muchirahondo executed his combination of underwater and butterfly skills to move ahead of the pack during the middle of the race. The crowd lifted as they sensed a stirring victory beckoning, with Muchirahondo (1:58.61) powering home to smash his NZ Age Record by nearly two seconds. Helms (1:59.76) dipped under two minutes for the silver and Lochlainn O’Connor (Matamata – 2:00.03) finished strongly to take the bronze.
Muchirahondo was all smiles after his first national title in one of the most taxing races on the programme.
“I’m honestly destroyed after that. It was a good race for me, I’m pretty happy with that. I’m just happy to be here.”
Rio Olympian Helena Gasson (Coast) again proved to be a standout in the short course format, taking out the Women’s 50m Backstroke. Gasson nailed her start and breakout to be clear at the 15m mark. Swimming more than half the race underwater, Gasson was too strong as she touched the wall just 0.04 seconds outside her NZ Record (26.78). Teammate Savannah-Eve Martin (Coast – 27.11) produced her second 18 Years NZ Age Record of the day to claim silver with teammate Amber George (Coast – 27.18) completing the club sweep on the podium.
Gasson was emotional after winning the race and during her interview, announcing it was her last individual race in New Zealand.
“It’s pretty surreal to have finished my 20 year span of competing at nationals. It’s a moment that we’ve known has been coming for a while, but to be in the moment is very emotional and special, and to have my husband, step-son and teammates on poolside for support means everything.”
Gasson wasn’t done yet though, with her Coast relay team swimming in the slowest seeded heat of the Women’s 4 x 50m Medley Relay. Savannah-Eve Martin got the team off to a flyer, before Zyleika Pratt-Smith, Gasson and Laura Quilter brought it home to break the NZ Record they set 12 months prior by 1.5 seconds (1:48.53). The time couldn’t be caught in the later heats, with Swimming Queensland (1:51.44) taking the second fastest time overall, South Australia (1:52.49) third fastest, North Shore (1:53.02) claiming the Kiwi silver and Heretaunga Sundevils (1:53.61) rounding out a very full podium.
Carter Swift (Club 37) qualified fastest from the heats of the Men’s 100m Freestyle in what appeared to be a comfortable 48.08. Setting the pace off his powerful dives, Swift lead from start to finish to secure the gold medal to be just outside his NZ Record and the “A” time with the third fastest swim in his career. Teammate Zac Dell (Club 37 – 48.16) pushed Swift through the opening 50m to win the silver, with teenager Hugo Wrathall (Jasi – 48.52) achieving two big personal bests in the day to win the bronze.
Zac Dell, Gilbert and Swift were back in the pool shortly their individual performances for the Men’s 4 x 50m Medley Relay. Cooper Morley (North Shore) and Cameron Gray (Coast) got their respective team off to fast starts, before Gilbert continued his dominant form to establish the lead. Jack Hendy and Swift brought the team home rapidly to retain their national title. North Shore (1:38.50) brought home silver and Coast (1:38.98) the bronze.
Chelsey Edwards (North Shore) was another swimmer in form ahead of the Women’s 100m Freestyle. Edwards used her sprint speed to be out fastest over the first 50m, with Australian visitor Brittany Castelluzzo (53.64) powering home to be first overall. Edwards was not far behind to win the national title, a time just outside the “A” standard for Budapest. Emma Godwin (Heretaunga Sundevils – 54.33) continued her strong form from the previous night to take the silver. Brooke Bennett (North Canterbury – 56.09) was fifth on the wall but took out the Kiwi bronze.
The Women’s 100m Breaststroke final was a close race for the minor medals, with Brearna Crawford (Waitakere – 1:06.66) the standout swimmer in the field. Crawford improved upon her heat swim to win the national title just outside her NZ Record. The race was on for silver, with Zyleika Pratt-Smith (Coast – 1:07.74) continuing her strong week with silver to pip Australian Georgia Edwards (1:07.79) on the wall, with Melissa Cowen (North Shore – 1:07.98) sharing the bronze medal.
Cameron Gray (Coast) reminded everyone that he holds NZ Age Records in the Men’s 50m Backstroke final. Fresh from returning from Paris, Gray (23.60) was excellent underwater to beat former teammate Cooper Morley (North Shore – 24.07) and Jack Hendy (Club 37 – 24.35).
There were a swag of NZ Records in the Multi-Class events on day four. The S18 NZ Record in the Men’s 100m Freestyle was broken three times in one day, with Luka Willems (Wharenui – 1:26.53) setting a new mark in the first heat, only to be broken in the next race by Joseph Blake (Hamilton Aquatics – 1:25.55). Willems went better again in the Multi-Class final to place fourth (1:23.96). Jack Bugler (Blenheim – 58.21) demonstrated his freestyle prowess with the gold ahead of David Beck (Club 37 – 58.61) and James Haydon (Club 37 – 1:00.38).
The Women’s 100m Freestyle Multi-Class was also full of strong performances. Australian visitor Jasmin Fullgrabe (1:07.58) was first overall, with Rylee Sayer (Matamata – 1:24.97) joining her on the top of the podium. Quinn Pike (Hamilton Aquatics – 1:03.61) broke the S19 NZ Record to win silver, with Melissa Donoghue (Hamilton Aquatics – 1:40.54) the bronze after breaking her S18 NZ Record during the heats. Charlotte Murphy (Aquagym) also picked up a S6 16&U NZ Age Record with her performance in the heats.
James Haydon (34.13) topped the podium in the Men’s 50m Backstroke Multi-Class ahead of Guy Harrison (Heretaunga Sundevils – 35.96) and Rawiri Tristram-Brown (Otaki Titans – 47.17). Nohorua Kalani (Tasman – 30.37) placed fourth after securing two S19 NZ Records across the day.
Melissa Donoghue (55.60) won gold in the Women’s 50m Backstroke Multi-Class. Charlotte Rozen (Wharenui – 57.21) won silver ahead of Chloe Gladwin (Whakatane – 35.85) who broke her S19 NZ Record from last month.
Asher Smith-Franklin (North Shore – 1:10.22) broke her SB14 NZ Record as he took out the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class title. James Haydon (1:16.01) completed a set of national medals on the same night with silver and Daniel Smith (Pukekohe – 1:08.04) the bronze.
Charlotte Rozen (Wharenui – 2:25.24) smashed the SB18 NZ Record by more than seven seconds to win gold in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class. McKenzie Drage (Aquagym – 2:09.11) finished with the silver.
Brittany Castelluzzo (Australia – 2:07.23) continued to show her class in the Women’s 200m Butterfly final, winning by more than four seconds over Australian teenager Siena Gibson (2:11.54) at the front of the field. Esme Paterson (Neptune & Swim Dunedin – 2:12.58) picked up a World Aquatics “B” time to go with her national title. Teenagers Chloe Peters (Hamilton Aquatics & RPC Waikato – 2:15.34) and Evie Skidmore (Trojans – 2:17.62) rounded out the podium.
The heats were also full of records and close races. The Men’s 50m Backstroke had NZ Age Records broken in consecutive age timed finals. Kase Glintmeyer (Coast – 27.35) got the ball rolling by breaking Paris Olympian Taiko Torepe-Ormsby’s 13 Years result from 2017. The following race saw Donald Tian (Coast – 26.20) break Corey Main’s 14 Years mark from 2009.
These two results highlight the incredible performances achieved across day four in Auckland. There were other epic battles but too many to report upon. Therefore, we encourage everyone to look back at the livestream available free on the Swimming NZ YouTube channel and check out the results.
Make sure you are following Swimming NZ social media channels to stay up-to-date with the action across the week. Day two has plenty more exciting races that you don't want to miss.
