Swimming: Golden meet for Prime

A staggering haul of 15 gold medals has seen Northwave swimmer Callum Prime dominate the 2016 Douglas Logging Northland Swimming Championships held at the Kauri Coast Community Pool in Dargaville.

The most outstanding swimmer in terms of results, Prime, 16, entered all possible events and came away with gold in every one of them.

Other swimmers that stood out from the 150-strong field included Mia Gordon (Northwave) with 10 gold medals, Hayley McIntosh (Northwave), Jeremy Elliott (Northwave) and Paul Linton (Bream Bay) with nine gold medals and Matthew Gordon (Northwave) with eight.

There were many other stand-out performances during the three-day carnival, which was blessed with beautiful weather for competitors using the outdoor 50m pool.

Other Northland swimmers who dominated their respective age groups by winning five or more gold medals across the full range of events included: Joe Gardner (Whangarei), Amy Swanson (Bream Bay), Kaina Whiu-Hemara (Whangarei), Tyler Jepson (Bay of Islands), Emilia Finer (Bay of Islands), Mia Gordon (Northwave), Jordan Carswell (Bream Bay), Jeremy Elliott (Northwave), Caitlin Ahlers (Northwave), Ellie Eastwood (Northwave), Annabel Simpson (Northwave), Paul Linton (Bream Bay), Hayley McIntosh (Northwave), Callum Prime (Northwave), Matthew Gordon (Northwave).

The small Northwave club was the most successful team at the championships, collectively winning the most gold medals (76) and the most overall medals (121).

The Bream Bay Swimming Club won the prestigious Crawford Woodman Trophy for the eight person relay (across four age groups), while the rest of the relays were shared between the Bream Bay, Northwave and Whangarei clubs.

More Northland swimmers qualifies for upcoming national championship events, which include the NZ Age Groups, NZ Junior and Division Two events, and the NZ Open Champs.