OCEANIA CHAMP: Gisborne’s Matt Scott won the 5km open water title at the Oceania Swimming Champs, which ended in Fiji at the weekend.
Picture by Paul Rickard
WAIKATO'S Claudia Ashby, sister of Rio Olympian Bradlee Ashby, was the best of the New Zealand swimmers at the FINA Junior World Open Water championships in the Netherlands.
Claudia (Fairfield club) was 22nd in the girls’ 18-19 years 10km event in 2:15.38, won by Great Britain’s Alice Dearing in 2:04.25.
Gisborne’s Matt Scott (Enterprise) was 28th in the 18-19 years boys’ race over 10kms in 2:05.41, won by Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky in a blistering 1:53.01.
Nelson’s Talya Harwood (Tasman club) was also 28th in the junior 16-17 years race over 7.5kms in 1:41.25, while Auckland’s Jackson Dawson (Waterhole) was disqualified. The quartet combines for the 5km relay tomorrow, with each swimmer completing one lap of 1.25kms. The championships are being staged in Hoorn which is an historic harbour city 35kms north of Amsterdam on the Ijsselmeer, the world’s biggest artificial lake. — NZME
