Swimming: Joy and despair for North Shore clubmates

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Melissa Ingram experienced the full range of emotions at the national championships last night.

The 17-year-old surged from behind to beat her North Shore clubmate Hannah McLean, robbing the 21-year-old of a third straight title in the 200m backstroke.

But a quick look at the clock at the Kilbirnie Aquatic Centre told the story she did not want to know. Her winning time of 2m 15.16s was slower than her best of 2m 14.32s and outside the 2m 14.50s she needed for a trip to the world championships.

Ingram was visibly upset.

Not so clubmate Alison Fitch. In less than 15 minutes, 23-year-old Fitch, already a qualifier for the world championships in the 200m freestyle, retained her 100m freestyle title (56.27s) and won the 50m butterfly (28.04s).

Christchurch's Georgina Toomey dead-heated for second in both.

It was Fitch's sixth 100m freestyle title - the first back in 1995 - and her second butterfly title, but the first since 1997.

"It is hard for us old girls to back up for two races like that," Fitch said. "My experience won it for me. I needed only three breaths [in the butterfly], which is not bad for me.

"My 100m freestyle time was my third fastest. I know I'm capable of better. I did not start well, but as I've got older I don't worry too much about things like that.

"I knew I was capable of swimming well. My goal was to go under 56s, but maybe I tried to hard."

In the women's 200m backstroke McLean went out strongly. Ingram did not - and paid the price despite storming home.

With a 1m 04.79s split, McLean was well on line for the world championships target, but as McLean tired, Ingram stormed home to win by more than a body length.

"She is bitterly disappointed," coach Jan Cameron said later. "But that's how it is. We will now look at how we are going to do things in the build-up to the Olympics. She is good enough to make that."

Cameron Gibson won the blue riband men's 100m freestyle in a classic contest.

Already the 100m backstroke champion, Gibson trailed Brad Herring out of the 50m turn, with Herring's younger brother, Mark, who had been the fastest qualifier, third.

In a powerful finish, Gibson capitalised on Brad Herring's poor lunge at the end of the race to touch first in 51.54s - the fastest championship-winning time since Trent Bray's 51.18s five years ago.

Fitch and Gibson won trips to New Caledonia for an international meeting with their 100m freestyle victories.

Otumoetai's Moss Burmester broke North Shore's domination with a solid win in the 400m freestyle, then returned to finish third behind North Shore's outstanding 17-year-old Corney Swanepoel in the 50m butterfly.

Scott Talbot-Cameron (North Shore) broke the national 50m backstroke record in winning his semifinal.

Dean Kent (also North Shore) tired over the second 100m but still took the 200m breaststroke title.