Golden girl flying high

Wanganui swimmer Shannon Schimanski has continued her success at the New Zealand Junior Championships after netting gold in the 50m breaststroke in her girl's division at the weekend.

Competing in Wellington where the central and South Island competitors were based while the upper North Island swimmers raced in Auckland simultaneously, Schimanski set a new Wanganui record of 37.27 seconds to claim top spot on the podium.

The 12-year-old held off Capital's Macy Burns and Auckland swimmer Emily Whitehead to claim the gold.

A bronze medallist in the 100m breastroke at the 2012 event, Schimanski backed that up with another bronze this year, behind Burns and North Shore swimmer Conor Tarrant.

Her time of 1:22.59 was also a Wanganui record, surpassing Bianca Vettise's time.

The gold and bronze medals confirmed a big step up for Schimanski, as she was ranked in the Top 5 for her age in breaststroke events coming into the weekend.

She came fifth in the 200m breastroke and was also seventh in the 50m backstroke.

Wanganui team mate Sarya Lower, 11, set three new Wanganui records in freestyle events.

Her 1:08.54 time had her seventh in the 100m, a 2:32.73 saw her 10th in the 200m, and she recorded a 31.54 in the 50m.

At their first national swim meet, Wanganui's Cheyann McDougall, 12, and Dillon Adrole 11, did well with McDougall recording a personal best 1:20.32 in the 100m backstroke.