TOP CLASS: Lochlainn O'Connor, 16, has experienced the hype of competing in Australia for New Zealand before. PHOTO: FILE
TOP CLASS: Lochlainn O'Connor, 16, has experienced the hype of competing in Australia for New Zealand before. PHOTO: FILE
Two Tauranga swimmers will test themselves against Australia's best at the 2017 Australian Age Group Championships in Brisbane from April 16-23.
For Lochlainn O'Connor, 16, it will be another step up from competing in Australia last year with a New Zealand selection while for Tristan Eiselen, 14, it will behis first time representing his country.
O'Connor is trained at Greerton by Tai Daniela with Eiselen under the guidance at Otumoetai of Mike Lee.
Both coaches encourage their two talented charges to go head-to-head in butterfly when they can, which keeps them both highly motivated.
O'Connor leads the way as he is older and significantly taller but Eiselen would love to break his Bay of Plenty butterfly records and emulate his national performances.
Both swimmers will contest the 100m and 200m butterfly in their age groups and O'Connor will also compete in various freestyle and IM races.
"Lochy has raced a lot of them (Australians) one-on-one last year and he held his own with them and swam similar times," Daniela said.
"The other thing with this race is they have the two visitor rule so, depending on the capability of other visitors coming in, he will have to make sure his heat swims are done at a very high level to be able to come back to race in the finals as one of two non-Australians."
Daniela has been coaching Aquinas College student O'Connor for five years and plays down any comparison with former Greerton swimmer Moss Burmester, who won gold in the 200m butterfly at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and finished fourth in the 2008 Olympic final.
"I don't want put that sort of pressure on him but he is going through a growth cycle right now. He is a very tall young man but he still hasn't developed muscularly yet so he still has room to move to make him go faster.
"We can see huge development in his pathway yet and that is very exciting."
STEPPING UP: Tristan Eiselen, 14, will make his New Zealand debut in Australia next month. PHOTO: GEORGE NOVAK
Eiselen says his goal is to make the both the 100m and 200m butterfly finals and "if I swim really well, hopefully medal".
He is thrilled to finally be selected for New Zealand after breaking a foot playing rugby at lunchtime at Tauranga Boys' College put him out of contention for several months last year.
"I probably wanted to represent New Zealand since I was nine, when I really started to get into competitive swimming. This is my first time getting selected so very exciting."
Lee says Eiselen lifted his training over the past three months and got the results he needed for selection.
"Before both the meets where he qualified we didn't back off much at all in training. At the meets you have to step up and really make it happen rather than just kind of dreaming about it and because of the work he got done it was not too much of an issue for him."
O'Connor and Eiselen are part of a large contingent of Bay of Plenty swimmers who will contest the NZ Age Group Championships in Wellington from March 21-25.
