Ciara Smith is ecstatic after her brilliant swim in the female 200m breaststroke A final. Photo / Supplied
Ciara Smith is ecstatic after her brilliant swim in the female 200m breaststroke A final. Photo / Supplied
Sixteen-year-old Ciara Smith upstaged the field on day three of the national short course swimming championships.
Whangarei swimmer Smith (Northwave) earned a rapturous applause from the crowd after winning the female 200m breaststroke A final, and setting a new open women's and 16 years age group record with a timeof 2.25.82.
Smith finished ahead of Rio Olympian Helena Gasson (Coast) and Cassandra Van Breugel (Coast and Valley).
The teenager said it was great to achieve a goal she set for herself.
"Breaking the record was definitely one of my goals, but I tried really hard for it not to distract me going into the race," she said.
"When I touched the wall and turned around and saw the time, I was really happy and surprised. I then looked around for Mum and she had a huge smile on her face."
The race marked the end of a successful championships for the young Northland swimmer, and she's now looking forward to taking a break.
"I'm going to take five days off to enjoy the school holidays and then it's back into training for Auckland age group champs", she said.
