CHAMPION: Otumoetai swimmer Tarquin Magner, 12, set three national records at the NZ Junior Festival in Auckland. PHOTO: FILE
CHAMPION: Otumoetai swimmer Tarquin Magner, 12, set three national records at the NZ Junior Festival in Auckland. PHOTO: FILE
The epic contests in the pool between Louis Fitzjohn and Tarquin Magner are already causing quite a ripple in the top echelons of New Zealand swimming.
The two 12-year-olds are the fastest swimmers for their age in the country and are both from Tauranga.
Otumoetai club member Magner and hisrival from across town at the Greerton pool, Fitzjohn, were the outright sensations at the Aquaknights Zonal Swimming Championships held last weekend.
Swimmers aged 9 to 12 from Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Taranaki and Hawke's Bay competed at the pinnacle of national junior swimming competition.
Magner broke three New Zealand records and Fitzjohn one in the undoubted individual battle of the swim meet.
Magner set new records in the 100m freestyle (57.68), 50m backstroke (29.43) and 100m individual medley (1:06.07), with Fitzjohn winning the 100m butterfly in a NZ record time (1:03.52) after several second places behind Magner.
In the 100m individual medley both swimmers broke the previous New Zealand record with Magner touching the wall just 0.2 seconds ahead of Fitzjohn, who won gold in the 200m butterfly, 50m breaststroke and 400m medley.
In the club rankings, Greerton sent a team of 27 swimmers aged 12-and-under and finished third overall behind St Peter's from Cambridge and Swim Rotorua. Otumoetai finished with a flourish to take sixth place.
TOP TALENT: Greerton Club Development Coach Riccardo Pini, left, a former Italian Junior Champion, with Louis Fitzjohn. PHOTO: SUPPLIED 240217sp19bop_greerton
There were plenty of other outstanding performances in the pool.
The Otumoetai juniors coached by Gerusio Matonse had some notable successes.
Te Manewha Rikihana gained an impressive medal haul with golds in 200m free, 50m fly, 100m medley, 50m breast, 100m fly and 200m medley plus a silver and two bronze medals. Lily Pearce, Ben Cosford and Mia Gardiner combined with Magner for the mixed 12-and-under 200m freestyle relay gold while Ben Cosford and Zac Graham both recorded 10-second PBs in boys' 400m freestyle.
Mount Maunganui swimmer Ruby Helm won seven gold medals in the 11-and-under age group, the most gold medals out of any Bay of Plenty athlete. Her club continues to improve on the national stage with 19 medals from 11 swimmers a great effort.
Greerton's rapidly improving Caitlin Farrell, 11, was another to shine winning the 100m freestyle in 1:06.87 after her earlier 200m bronze and an excellent 400m swim, which saw her finish as third fastest 400m girl across all four New Zealand zonal meets.
Daniel Harrington, 12, swam beautifully in the backstroke events to fill third place twice behind Magner and Fitzjohn. Tom Jury, 12, scored a bronze in the 100m butterfly, Zac Quin, 10, was third in the 100m breaststroke and Shaeli Brewer, 10, won two silver medals in the 50m freestyle and backstroke.
