First day preliminary round of 2011 New Zealand Swimming Championship
The 2011 New Zealand Swimming Championship started Sunday in Auckland with the aim of finalising New Zealand’s swimming team for the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai this July. The championship will consist of 34 relays and close to 265 swimmers from
various regional swim teams throughout New Zealand.
The first session ended after the completion of the preliminary rounds of the Women’s 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 400m freestyle along with the Men’s 400m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 100m breast-stroke.
In the Women’s 100m butterfly, Danielle Koni ousted Sophia Batchelor and Laura Quilter with a timing of 1:02.21 minutes to qualify as the fastest swimmer in the final. Moreover, Batchelor and Quilter touched the wall in a time of 1:02.22 and 1:02.46 minutes
respectively to move into the final round. It was an exciting and competitive swim, as very little time separated the top three in the event.
After that, Velimir Stjepanovic conquered the preliminary rounds of the Men’s 400m freestyle in a time of 3:58.82 minutes. Stjepanovic’s aggressive swim placed him comfortably ahead of Kane Radford and Dylan Dunlop-Barrett, who emerged as the second and
third fastest qualifying swimmers in a time of 4:02.12 and 4:02.99 minutes.
In the Women’s 200m Individual Medley event, Natalie Wiegersma eliminated her fellow swimmers with a wonderful performance of 2:16.69 minutes. Her exquisite swim kept her ahead of Grace Francis and Katie Kenneally, who touched the wall in a time of 2:20.13
and 2:21.00 minutes respectively.
Next was the Men’s 50m butterfly that encountered some very aggressive performances from the three swimmers of the Roskill Swimming Club. Nielsen Varoy appeared as the fastest swimmer to proceed to the final in 24.37 seconds prior to his team members Corney
Swanepoel and William Benson, who finished in 24.37 and 24.58 seconds.
In the Women’s 400m freestyle, Lauren Boyle displayed a powerful swim of 4:12.32 minutes to eliminate Tash Hind and Samantha Lucie-Smith, who posted a time of 4:16.87 and 4:17.20 minutes respectively. Boyle is the national record holder for the same event
with a time of 4:09.45 minutes.
In the Men’s 100m breast-stroke, Glenn Synders qualified as the fastest swimmer for the final with a timing of 1:00.89 minutes. Synders dominated the event, as his timing placed him considerably ahead of Luke Westgaard and Nicholas Ferrif, who touched the
wall second and third in a time of 1:02.39 and 1:03.09 minutes.
The finals for the same events will take place Sunday night and the winners of each event will be awarded their spot in the New Zealand swimming team to compete at the World Championships in July.
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