Swimming: No worries now as teen strikes gold

Bobbi Gichard and Auckland rival Gabrielle Fa'amausili qualified for the junior world championships in Singapore. Photo / Simon Watts / www.bwmedia.co.nz

Before Hawke's Bay swimmer Bobbi Gichard travelled to this week's national age group championships her coach Noel Hardgrave-Booth was a worried man.

The Greendale club's head coach, Hardgrave-Booth was concerned changes to the national schedule meant 15-year-old Gichard was spending so much time travelling to meets her training time was suffering. During the second night of finals at the national age group championships in Wellington on Wednesday Gichard erased her coach's fears.

Three weeks after qualifying for the August senior world championships in Kazan, Russia, Gichard re-qualified for the August junior world championships in Singapore in the 100m backstroke.

After going under the qualifying time in the heats Gichard beat her long-time rival, Aucklander Gabrielle Fa'amausili, for gold with a personal best time of 1m 01.21s which broke her own HBPB and national age group record.

Gichard's time is under the Fina A time of 1m 01.25s. Fa'amausili's time was 1m 02.70s.

Napier Girls' High School student Gichard pointed out her success meant there would be more time away from Hardgrave-Booth's training sessions.

"There will be a lot of camps and a few competitions in Australia just to keep up my racing but I'll definitely be going to Gary Hurring to do some training with them," Gichard said, referring to top national team coach and former New Zealand rep Hurring.

Gichard will be aiming to qualify in the 200m backstroke event today.

"I think I'm a second and a half under the qualifying time so that'll be good if I stay in there," she said.

Gichard is one of several Hawke's Bay swimmers who have won medals and set HBPB records. Others include the Napier Aquahawks pair of Bruin Maunder and Ruby Adsett who won gold in their respective 100m breaststroke and 200m freestyle events.

During the first day of the champs Adsett, who was also part of the silver medal-winning HBPB 4 x 100m relay team, and Maunder were among four Frank Wylie-coached Aquahawks to win medals. Maddie Mason and Stuart Graham were the others.

Mason won another two medals on Wednesday when Adsett captured her second gold with a HBPB record in the 400m freestyle.

Tavis Graham (100m backstroke) and Kaitlin Cotter (50m breaststroke) were the Aquahawks' other gold medallists on Wednesday.

Last night Maunder won silver in his 14 years 200m breaststroke final and Adsett silver in her 15 years 50m freestyle final.

Adsett and Central Hawke's Bay's Maggie Franks were in the HBPB 4 x 200m relay team which won gold in convincing fashion from second-placed Otago and third-placed Auckland.

The championships end tomorrow.