Dolphins gold rush sees Australia on top of the Para Pan Pacs medal tally

 

 

Swimming Australia: August 13, 2018: The Australian Dolphins have finished their Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships campaign victorious, winning a total of 43 gold, 30 silver and 21 bronze to top the medal tally.

In a fierce competition against Para-swimming powerhouses USA, Canada, Japan as well as four strong swimming nations - Brazil, New Zealand, Singapore and Costa Rica, the Dolphins’ skills shone through, proving they’ll be the ones with targets on their back at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, just a little over two years away.

Rio 2016 Paralympian Rachael Watson set the pace on the final night of competition, winning the first gold medal on offer in the one lap dash, the 50m freestyle S4.

Finishing in a time of 40.00, nearly two seconds ahead of Brazil’s Patricia Santos (41.91) and Team USA’s Leanne Smith (44.28), Watson was thrilled to win gold on home soil with a roaring crowd cheering her along the way.

“It feels amazing to get the win in my pet event, but to win it on home soil is an incredible feeling,” Watson said.

“It’s been really nice to do an international meet here in Australia, representing our own country on home soil with so many people watching and supporting us.”

London 2012 Paralympian Taylor Corry also impressed tonight displaying career-best form and finishing the event with four gold medals from four events. Swimming 1:08.77 in the 100m butterfly S14 final tonight, Corry lead from the start and finished nearly five seconds ahead of Canada’s Justine Morrier.

“I’m so happy with my swim tonight but I’m even happier with the meet in general,” Corry said.

“I missed out on Rio by half a second, I missed out on World Champs last year by two seconds and I’m just so glad to be part of the Australian team again.”

“I didn’t take much notice of how far ahead I was in that race because for me, it’s just about what I can do for this family. My swimming family. “

The evergreen Matt Levy, who after four Paralympic Games still has more to give. Claiming gold in the 50m freestyle S7, Levy touched the wall in a time of 28.94. The win turned into an Australian quinella, with Sydneysider Rohan Bright claiming silver in a time of 30.71 ahead of Brazil’s Talisson Glock.

“It was great to finish the meet off with a decent swim tonight. It’s been a great atmosphere here, it’s great to be in Cairns and it’s been great to get so many PBs during these last five days,” he said.

In other results tonight, Australia’s lucky charm, Lakeisha ‘Lucky’ Patterson claimed the second gold medal on offer in the S8 50m freestyle event, shaving more than a second off her heat time to touch the wall in 30.39, while 13-year-old Jasmine Greenwood swam 28.87 in the S10 final to become the first bronzed Aussie of the night.

The S10 men’s final was the nail-biting event of the evening, and although Brazil’s Phelipe Rodrigues took the title, Dolphin Rowan Crothers made the race one to remember, finishing 0.07 seconds behind Rodrigues in a time of 23.78. The closest race of the whole meet.

In the 100m butterfly S13, USC Spartan swimmers Braedan Jason and Jacob Templeton took charge. Jason completed his race to win his second gold medal of the night in under a minute (59.64) while Templeton raced just over in 1:00.56.

The clear champions of the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships, Australia were unrelenting until the end, with the women’s 4 x 100m freestyle 34-point relay team grabbing the last gold medal of the meet. The team consisting of Paige Leonhardt, Ellie Cole, Lakeisha Patterson and Tiffany Thomas Kane took the lead from the start but were pushed by Team USA right until the end when Thomas Kane widened the small gap in her final strokes to touch the wall first.

Australian Dolphins Medallists – Day 5

 

 

 

Gold

 

Rachel Watson – Gold – S4 50m freestyle

 

Lakeisha Patterson – Gold – S8 50m freestyle

 

Grant Patterson – Gold – S3 50m freestyle

 

Matt Levy – Gold – S7 50m freestyle

 

Tim Disken – Gold – S9 50m freestyle

 

Braedan Jason – Gold – S13 50m freestyle

 

Taylor Corry – Gold – S14 100m butterfly

 

Tim Hodge – Gold – S9 100m butterfly

 

Braedan Jason – Gold – S13 100m butterfly

 

Grant Patterson – Gold – S3 150m individual medley

 

4 x 100m freestyle 34-point relay team – Gold

 

 

 

Silver

 

Rohan Bright – Silver – S7 50m freestyle

 

Rowan Crothers – Silver – S10 50m freestyle

 

Lakeisha Patterson – Silver – S8 100m butterfly

 

Paige Leonhardt – Silver – S10 100m butterfly

 

Jesse Aungles – Silver – S8 100m butterfly

 

Brenden Hall – Silver – S9 100m butterfly

 

Guy Harrison Murray – Silver – S10 100m butterfly

 

Jacob Templeton – Silver – S13 100m butterfly

 

 

 

Bronze

 

Jasmine Greenwood – Bronze – S10 50m freestyle

 

Brenden Hall – Bronze – S10 50m freestyle

 

Guy Harrison-Murray – Bronze - S10 50m freestyle

 

Jacob Templeton – Bronze - S13 50m freestyle

 

Ahmed Kelly – Bronze – S4 150m individual medley

 

 

 

Australian Dolphins Medallists – Day 4

 

 

 

Gold - 6
Lakeisha Patterson – Gold – S8 100m Backstroke
Ellie Cole – Gold – S9 100m Backstroke
Katja Dedekind – Gold – S13 100m Backstroke
Timothy Hodge – Gold – S9 100m Backstroke
Jeremy McClure – Gold – S11 100m Backstroke

 

Relay – Gold – 34-point 4x100m freestyle - Matthew Levy, Timothy Disken, Ben Popham and Rowan Crothers

 

 

 

Silver - 4

 

Jesse Aungles – Silver – S8 100m Backstroke
Logan Powell – Silver – S9 100m Backstroke
Jacob Templeton – Silver – S13 100m Backstroke

 

Matthew Levy – Silver – S7 50m Butterfly

 

 

 

Bronze – 3

 

Katherine Downie – Bronze – S10 100m Backstroke
Liam Schluter – Bronze – S14 100m Backstroke

 

Rohan Bright – Bronze – S7 50m Butterfly

 

 

 

 

 

Australian Dolphins Medallists – Day 3

 

 

 

Gold - 6
Grant Patterson – Gold – Men’s 50m Backstroke S3
Madeleine Scott – Gold – Women’s 200m IM SM9
Taylor Corry – Gold – Women’s 200m IM SM14
Matthew Levy – Gold – Men’s 200m IM SM7
Timothy Hodge – Gold – Men’s 200m IM SM9
Relay – Gold – Women’s 4x100m Medley 34-point - Ellie Cole, Tiffany Thomas-Kane, Paige Leonhardt, Lakeisha Patterson

 

 

 

Silver - 4
Lakeisha Patterson – Silver – Women’s 200m IM SM8
Rohan Bright – Silver – Men’s 200m IM SM7
Jesse Aungles – Silver – Men’s 200m IM SM8
Timothy Disken – Silver – Men’s 200m IM SM9

 

 

 

Bronze - 5
Katherine Downie – Bronze – Women’s 200m IM SM10
Katja Dedekind – Bronze – Women’s 200m IM SM12/13
Blake Cochrane – Bronze – Men’s 200m IM SM8
Jacob Templeton – Bronze – Men’s 200m IM SM13
Liam Schluter – Bronze – Men’s 200m IM SM14

Australian Dolphins Medallists – Day 2

 

 

 

Gold - 6
Ellie Cole – Gold – S9 100m Freestyle
Ben Popham – Gold – S8 100m Freestyle
Rowan Crothers – Gold – S10 100m Freestyle
Grant Patterson – Gold – SB2 – 50m Breaststroke
Relay – Gold – S14 4x100m Freestyle Relay - Liam Schluter, Daniel Fox, Jamie-Lee Getson, Taylor Corry
Relay – Gold – 34-point medley relay - Timothy Hodge, Rick Pendleton, Timothy Disken, Matt Levy

 

 

 

Silver - 2
Lakeisha Patterson – Silver – S8 100m Freestyle

 

Ahmed Kelly – Silver – SB3 50m Breaststroke

 

Bronze - 3
Paige Leonhardt – Bronze – S10 100m Freestyle

 

Rachel Watson – Bronze – SB3 50m Breaststroke
Guy Harrison-Murray – Bronze - S10 100m Freestyle

 

 

 

Australian Dolphins Medallists – Day 1

 

 

 

Gold - 13

 

Lakeisha Patterson – Gold – 400m Freestyle S8
Ellie Cole – Gold – 400m Freestyle S9

 

Matt Levy – Gold – 400m Freestyle S7

 

Brenden Hall – Gold – 400m Freestyle S9

 

Rowan Crothers – Gold 400m Freestyle S10
Braedan Jason – Gold – 400m Freestyle S13
Grant Patterson – Gold – 200m Freestyle S3

 

Liam Schulter – Gold – 200m Freestyle S14
Paige Leonhardt – Gold – 100m Breaststroke SB9
Blake Cochrane – Gold – 100m Breaststroke SB7

 

Timothy Disken – Gold – 100m Breaststroke SB8
Rick Pendleton – Gold – 100m Breaststroke SB9
Liam Bekric – Gold – 100m Breaststroke SB13

 

Silver - 11
Monique Murphy – Silver – 400m Freestyle S10
Katja Dedekind – Silver – 400m Freestyle S13

 

Logan Powell – Silver – 400m Freestyle S9

 

Jacob Templeton – Silver - 400m Freestyle S13
Daniel Fox – Silver - 200m Freestyle S14
Tiffany Thomas-Kane – Silver – 100m Freestyle SB7
Keira Stephens – Silver – 100m Breaststroke SB9
Jaime-Lee Getson – Silver – 100m Breaststroke SB14
Rohan Bright – Silver – 100m Breaststroke SB7
Timothy Hodge – Silver – 100m Breaststroke SB8
20-point Relay – Silver – Rachael Watson, Ahmed Kelly, Ashley McConnell, Grant Patterson

 

 

 

Bronze - 4
Jesse Aungles - Bronze – 400m Freestyle S8

 

Jasmine Greenwood – Bronze – 400m Freestyle S10
Guy Harrison Murray – Bronze – 400m Freestyle S10

 

Madeleine Scott – Bronze – 100m Breaststroke SB9

 

For Australian Dolphins Team requests Cairns, please contact:

 

Lach Searle | 0488 076 088

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