Wanganui in Otago gold rush

STEEP END: The Subway Wanganui swim team was Grace Hogan (left), Niamh Hogan, Judah Malcolm, Jazmin Phillips and Alex Forlong.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

THE Subway Wanganui Swim Team made a big impact at the New Zealand Division 2 meet at the Moana Pool in Dunedin, claiming 11 medals and posting numerous personal bests.

With three gold, four silver and four bronze medals, the team finished the 12th most successful club over the four-day competition last week.

The team of four girls and one boy consistently posted personal bests to keep the medal bearers busy and Wanganui's name in lights from the first session on Wednesday morning until the final session on Saturday evening.

On Wednesday, all five competed and posted personal bests, with Niamh Hogan leading the charge in the 14-year-old girls. Hogan won the first Wanganui gold in the 200m backstroke, knocking 10 seconds off her entry time over the heats and finals.

Just three events later, Judah Malcolm, 15, took the first of his three medals with a second-equal in the 50m butterfly. Not to be left out, the most experienced team member, Jazmin Phillips, 16, picked up the first of her handful of medals with a solid bronze in the 100m breaststroke.

The two female medal winners then combined with Alex Forlong, 14, and Grace Hogan, 14, to swim a competitive freestyle relay for fifth place; the three 14-year-olds swimming in a higher age group.

Day two started pretty much where day one left off with good swims in the heats by everyone, and more medals predicted for the evening finals session. The three medal winners from the previous night didn't disappoint, Phillips nailing silver in the 200m individual medley, Hogan bronze in the 100m backstroke and Malcolm achieving the almost unheard of feat of dead-heating again, this time for bronze in the boys 100m backstroke.

With six medals in the first two days, the team set themselves a lofty target of 12 medals for the competition and, on day three, more followed. It started with an outstanding swim by Phillips in the 800m freestyle to move up the rankings into second place for her second silver and third medal of the competition. Alex Forlong then delivered in her 200m butterfly final, swimming a strong last 100m to bag bronze.

The only disappointment came when the girls arrived at marshalling for their medley relay to find they had been entered in the wrong order. None of them swam their preferred stroke and it cost them any chance of challenging for a medal. To their credit, the girls raced hard for a meritorious seventh.

The final day was all about Phillips, with a silver in the 200m breaststroke before her swim of the meet for a gold in the 400m individual medley.

Malcolm tried hard to pick up the elusive 12th medal with two fourth placings but, in the end, the team had to settle for 11.

Team manager Jeff Phillips was happy with the team's overall performance and, with just five swimmers knocking on the door of a top-10 team finish, said it represented an outstanding overall effort.

The next major competition for the Subway Wanganui Team is the National Age Group champs in May, where they will be pitted against the best young swimmers in New Zealand.