Two Kāpiti competitive swimmers have been selected for teams in the upcoming Oceania Swimming Championships in the Gold Coast, Australia.
The championships are held every two years in alignment with the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, but the past two events have been cancelled due to Covid.
Kokoro Frost and Phoebe Nelson, both members of the Ōtaki Titans Swimming Club, were the two locals selected for the championships.
The pair have been training together under coach Jon Winter at the Coastlands Aquatic Centre, but they’re going to be on different teams for the championships - Kokoro for Samoa and Phoebe for New Zealand.
Swimming in this competition isn’t new to Kokoro – he’s been selected six times before.
Kokoro, who aspires to compete in the Olympics later this year, was selected by the Samoa Swimming Federation for their team of eight after his great performances at the Pacific Games last year and the World Aquatic Championships earlier this year.
“It is a real blessing to have been selected again and I’m looking forward to going to an international competition with my club teammate, Phoebe.”
He was part of the 4x100 men’s freestyle relay team that won silver at the Pacific Games, and at the World Aquatic Championships, he finished with a season-best in the 100m butterfly.
Kokoro started swimming competitively when he was 8 as part of the Ōtaki Titans Swimming Club, formerly known as the Kāpiti Swimming Club.
“In 2019, I moved to train with coach Jon, and we’ve fostered a great relationship.
“Thanks to Jon, this will be my seventh international competition representing Samoa.
“I love that I am not only able to represent the Kāpiti District here in New Zealand but also the people of Samoa.”
Kokoro Frost is ready to compete.
For Waikanae swimmer Phoebe this is the first time she’s been selected and is something she has aspired to do for a long time.
“Representing my country in sport has always been a goal of mine, so I feel honoured and excited to be swimming for New Zealand in a few weeks.”
Phoebe was one of 10 swimmers selected by the Swimming New Zealand selection board to be on the team and was chosen based on her results in her main event – 50m freestyle.
“My selection was based on my performances and consistent improvement since starting swimming again in 2020.”
Phoebe has been swimming since she was a toddler, and started swimming competitively when she was 8.
She said at first, she wasn’t too keen on swimming, but she attended club nights with her sister and began to enjoy it.
When she was at school she competed at a high level and won various national age-group medals for freestyle events, but when she was 16, she decided to take some time off and was unsure whether she would start swimming again.
“Schoolwork and my social life had increased, making it hard to balance the high level of commitment swimming requires.
“I was also dealing with bad performance anxiety which increased the pressure I put on myself, which had a negative impact on my performance and made me resent the sport.”
After four years off she found that she missed swimming, so she started up again in 2020.
“I felt I had not reached my full potential in swimming and that I had more to give.”
Phoebe wanted to shout out her parents who “have sacrificed heaps for me to be here, including a lot of sleep and money”.
“Before I could drive myself, swimming involved lots of early mornings... not to mention the competitions all over the country and the cost of swimwear, meet entries, swimming club fees, etc.”
The Oceania Swimming Championships will take place from April 21-24.
