Final night of Short Course sets pool alight

 

Swimming Australia: 27 October, 2018: The final round of swimming kicked off tonight at the Hancock Prospecting Australian Short Course Championships down at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre with Emily Seebohm, Thomas Fraser-Holmes and Zac Stubblety-Cook finishing off strong after three powerful days of competition.

Seebohm (Brisbane Grammar) claimed victory in the women’s 200m IM in 2:06.75, leaving her with five golds from the event bringing her to an impressive 31 Australian short course titles.

Competing in his first event since his return to elite competition, Fraser-Holmes (Griffith Uni) won gold in 4:04.55 for the men’s 400m IM ahead of David Schlicht (MLC Aquatic) 4:05.28 and Jared Gilliland (Brisbane Grammar) 4:08.09.

Stubblety-Cook (West Brisbane) proved he will be one to watch in future years, winning the men’s breaststroke 200m in 2:04.94, beating his own time from last year’s event, ahead of James McKechnie (Starplex) 2:08.39 for silver and Daniel Cave (Melbourne Vicentre) 2:08.65 with bronze.

The men’s 100m breaststroke multi-class saw Melbourne’s own Timothy Disken (PLC Aquatic) scoop up gold in 1:08.49, with Grant Patterson (Central Cairns) 2:15.24 for silver and Jake Michel (Carina Leagues CJ’s) 1:04.52 with bronze.

Paige Leonhardt (Yeronga Park) came in 1:16.69 for the women’s 100m breaststroke multi-class to claim an early gold for the evening, with Keira Stephens (Fraser Coast) 1:17.21 for silver and Ruby Storm (Traralgon) 1:18.23 with bronze.

Clocking in with an impressive 2:05.98 Laura Taylor (TSS Aquatic) picked up gold in the women’s 200m butterfly, with Jordan White (SLC Aquadot) 2:10.53 for silver and Tianni Gilmour (USC Spartans) 2:11.21 took bronze.

Butterfly champion David Morgan (TSS Aquatic) snagged another gold in the men’s 100m in 50.55, the exact time that scored him the title last year, closely followed by 19-year-old Matthew Temple (Nunawading) in 50.73 for silver and Nicholas Brown (UWA West Coast) 51.03 for bronze.

The multi-class event of the same stroke saw Rohan Bright (Barker Aquatic) win gold in 1:12.98 over 15-year-old Ricky Betar (Auburn) 58.92 with silver and Mitchell Kilduff (SLC Aquadot) in 59.21 to take bronze.

Women’s 100m butterfly multi-class saw Trinity Lismore swimmer Taylor Corry take gold in 1:07.82 ahead of Madeleine Scott (Nunawading) 1:08.68 for silver and bronze went to Paige Leonhardt (Yeronga Park).

One of the shorter events of the evening the men’s 50m freestyle had crowd favourite Cameron McEvoy (TSS Aquatic) emerge victorious over Cameron Jones (St Peters Western) 21.00 to 21.35 respectively with Grayson Bell (TSS Aquatic) claiming bronze in 21.38.

The women’s 50m backstroke multi-class had 17-year-old Katja Dedekind (USC Spartans) claim gold in 31.52 followed by Taylor Corry (Trinity Lismore) 32.45 for silver and Jenna Jones (Sopac) 33.89 with bronze.  

Following on with the men’s 50m multi-class of the same stroke Betar (Auburn) added another medal to his collection claiming gold in 28.38 with Daniel Fox (USC Spartans) for silver in 29.14 and Rod Welsh (Yarra Plenty) in 28.17 with bronze.

Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western) came in 1:53.99 for the women’s 200m freestyle to beat last year’s title holding time of 1:54.69 claiming herself another gold. Followed behind were USC Spartans teammates Kaylee McKeown and Mikkayla Sheridan in 1:55.84 and 1:55.91 for silver and bronze respectively.

The men’s 100m backstroke saw Commonwealth Games champion Mitch Larkin (St Peters Western) continue his success winning gold in 49.98, claiming the spot as new title holder for the event. Tristan Hollard (Southport Olympic) came in 51.61 for silver and Jorden Merrilees in 52.84 for bronze.

The longest event of the evenings program was the men’s 1500m freestyle which saw Joshua Parrish (TSS Aquatic) successfully defend his title from last year winning in 14:43.84, followed by Silas Harris (Northcote) 14:55.18 for silver and Max Osborn (TSS Aquatic) 15:04.42 for bronze.

The crowd loved having their hometown heroes back and getting in on all the action short course provided. 100’s of fans lined up in centre lane for the chance to meet some Australian Dolphins legends, with energy to spare they cheered on each race with enthusiasm and pride, continuing to prove Australia’s devotion and passion for swimming.

Please find here a VNR with overlay and interviews and photos attached for editorial use. Please credit Swimming Australia and Delly Carr.