Whanganui swim team shatters records

Paige Conley (second from right in blue race suit) launches into her record-breaking 400m Freestyle. Photo / Karl Wairama

Whanganui Swimming Club’s team of 15 swimmers made some waves in Hawke’s Bay on December 15-17, leaving a trail of eight broken Whanganui records in their wake.

They were among 330 swimmers from 32 clubs competing in the 2023 Hawke’s Bay Poverty Bay Summer Long Course Champs at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre.

Amelia Boden-Cave, 50m butterfly. Photo / Karl Wairama

A long course pool is 50 metres long and is the standard for international competitions, including the Olympics, whereas short course pools are 25 metres long like our own Splash Centre.

“Swimmers in short-course races have to make more turns, which can be an advantage for those who are skilled at executing turns efficiently,” says Aaron Bunker from Whanganui Swimming Club.

Lachlan Baskett, second in 100m backstroke (9 and under). Photo / Karl Wairama

“In contrast, in long-course races, swimmers need to focus more on endurance over longer stretches and maintaining a steady pace. In preparation for the meet, head coach Richard Gheel’s training programme had the Whanganui team, aged 9-14, training in the 50m pool at the Marton Swim Centre and regular training at the Splash Centre.

“The team’s training paid off dividends as they achieved no less than 87 personal bests (PBs), capped off by 38 top-3 placings. What makes these results even more impressive is that because it was a Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Regional Championship only three swimmers from outside of the Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay region were eligible to qualify for each final (unless there were additional places),” said Bunker.

MacKenzie Marsh, 100m breaststroke. Photo / Karl Wairama

Some of the biggest PBs included: Zoe Baskett (12) - 9.3 seconds off her 100m backstroke, Molly Baskett (10) and Lachlan Baskett (9) - 8.5 and 7.5 seconds off their 100m freestyle times respectively, Elle Limpus (13) - 5.8 seconds off her 100m backstroke, Evelyn Packard (12) - 5.3 seconds off her 200m freestyle and MacKenzie Marsh (13) - 5.1 seconds off his 200m individual medley.

Rachel Pui, second in 100m butterfly (13 years). Photo / Karl Wairama

Four swimmers broke eight Whanganui long course (LC) records between them.

Ziva Bunker secured the ‘triple crown’ of 11-year-old LC backstroke records:

■ in both the 50m and 200m backstroke events, her times of 34.82 and 2:44.48 respectively broke Jaimee Schimanski’s previous LC records from 2010, and

■ in the 100m backstroke her time of 1:14.99 broke Rylee Earle’s LC record of 1:20.13 set in Hawke’s Bay this time last year. Also in the 11-year-old age group, Ryleigh Dorricott’s time of 2:51.72 in the 200m individual medley broke Evon Storey’s previous LC record in 2006. Ryleigh also set a new Whanganui LC standard for 11 and under in the 400m individual medley of 6:02.89.

Ryleigh Dorricott, first in 50m breaststroke (11 years). Photo / Karl Wairama

Rylee Earles, now swimming in the 12-year-old age group, went on to set a new Whanganui LC record for the 100m backstroke in that age group of 1:13.29, a record that had previously been held since 2009 by Sarah Teki-Clark.

Tessa Murphy, 100m breaststroke. Photo / Karl Wairama

Double national champion Paige Conley set 3 new Whanganui LC records in the 14-year-old age group:

■ in the 400m freestyle her time of 4:43.56 surpassed Laura O’Keeffe’s LC record from 2013 - her time of 1:08.46 in the 100m butterfly broke Bianca Vettise’s previous LC record from 2008, and - in the 200m butterfly her time of 2:29.20 took 5 seconds off the record Elena Forlong had previously set in 2014.

Whanganui Swim Team.

Swimming is a year-round sport so all club members took a break over the Christmas and New Year period before competitive swimmers jump right back into training for the pinnacle annual Manawatū meet, the Manawatū Age Group Champs, which will be held at the 50-metre outdoor pool at the Lido Aquatic Centre in Palmerston North in February.

Whanganui swimmers' results.

The club would like to thank all the sponsors who have contributed to their success throughout the 2023 calendar year including their ongoing sponsors NZCT and David Jones Motors.