RECORD BREAKING ROLL CONTINUES AT AUSTRALIAN AGE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SYDNEY

Sydney, April14: Three new stars, 13-year-old Yolane Kukla, former champion surf swimmer Thomas Fraser-Holmes and backstroking's Ben Treffers have set the pool alight on an exciting night two of the 2009 Australian Age Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre tonight. Brooke Hanson Clarke reports...

Kukla (St Peters Western, QLD) won her second gold medal of the championships in 13 years & under 100m butterfly, adding to her win in the 200m freestyle, last night.

The 13-year-old had the swim of her life and broke the minute barrier with an outstanding time of 59.97 - taking more than two seconds off her previous best to set new Australian Age and Australian All-Comers records.

"I can't believe I swam that time - my personal best was 1.02.17 and I was shortening up in the last 10 metres so I really surprised myself when I looked at the scoreboard," said Kukla, a year-nine student at Brisbane's St Peters Western Lutheran College.

"I didn't swim at Australian Open because my main focus all season has been Australian Age and to win two gold medals is great.

"My main events are the 50m and 100m freestyle and they are later in the week and I'm looking forward to racing them after swimming so well tonight."

Kukla's night didn't end there, adding her third gold medal in the 14 years and under girls 4x50m freestyle relay with her St Peters Western team mates.

Thomas Fraser-Holmes - the Newcastle boy who has joined Vince Raleigh's "Olympic medallists" squad at the AIS -  led all the way in the 17-18 years 400m individual medley to win his first Australian Age Championship and break the six-year-old Australian and Australian All-Comers record held by duel Olympian Travis Nederpelt in 2003.

Fraser-Holmes stopped the clock at 4.20.90 - two seconds faster than his swim at the Telstra Australian Championships three weeks ago - to break into the Australian All-Time Top Ten.

The former champion surf swimmer from Newcastle and Manly tips out 1992 Olympian and 1994 World Championship finalist Philip Bryant, who clocked 4:20.95 in 1995.

And then AIS scholarship holder - Ben Treffers (Burley Griffin, NSW) clocked a sizzling 55.03 and also joined the record books - setting a new Australian 17-years All-Comers record in the boys 17-18 years 100m backstroke - the eighth fastest by an Australian and edging out the great Ian Thorpe (55.38) and Bobby Jovanovich (55.47).

Olympic bronze medallist Cate Campbell won the 16 years girls 50m freestyle, collecting another gold medal after her win the 100m freestyle on night one - but the one-lap event wasn't without it's fair share of drama.

The girls dealt with technical problems at what looked like a false start with six of the girls diving into the water early including Emily Seebohm (Brothers, QLD).

After a starting malfunction all ten girls were told to relax as the starting equipment was fixed and tested. After a five-minute wait the girls were asked to step back onto the blocks and the race got underway for the second time.

In the end it was Campbell (Indooroopilly, QLD) who eventually stopped the clock at 25.29 from fellow Olympian and World Championship team mate, Seebohm (Brothers,QLD) 25.73 and Nicole Mee (Uni Swim, NSW) 26.39 bronze.

"There was a tiny beep so I just went for it but it continued beeping and I thought "oh no Ishouldn't have dived in," said Seebohm after her second-placed finish.

"The 50m freestyle is so much fun and tonight definitely added another dimension to that fun. It didn't affect my race and it was good to have a laugh about it with Emily after her and the other girls dived in," said Campbell who was delighted to win another gold medal.

Ellen Fullerton (Pro-Ma Miami, QLD) 4:11.29 led from start to finish in the 400m freestyle, winning her first gold medal of the championships.

Fullerton's Pro-Ma Miami team mate and Australian Youth Olympic Festival gold medallist Katie Goldman finished second in 4:13.95 with visiting Canadian Lindsay Seemann (4.17.95) taking the bronze while the third Australian was Belinda Bennett (Nunawading, VIC) 4.19.78.

In the boys 16years 400m freestyle Ned McKendry used catch me if you can tactics to stop the clock at 3.55.11, winning his first medal of the week.

Olympic finalist in the 200m backstroke Belinda Hocking swam away from the field in her first final of the championships in the 17-18 years 100m backstroke.

The AIS-based Albury backstroker split 29.36 in the first 50m and stopped the clock at 1.00.03 just 0.08 of a second outside her own Australian Age record set three weeks ago at the Telstra Australian Championships.

Hocking looked impressive with a good hit out as she begins her preparation for the 100 and 200m backstroke for the Rome World Championships in July. 

Hocking beat junior Pan Pac team mates Grace Loh (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) 1.02.12 and Tiffany Papaemanouil (Norwood, SA) 1.03.49.

Another Junior Pan Pac team member and the World Championship bound Blair Evans backed up her win in the 400m freestyle on night one, stopping the clock at 4.46.38 towin the 17-18 years 400m individual medley. 

Mikkayla Maselli-Sheridan (Commercial, QLD) added two more gold medals to take her tally to four gold after winning the 14 years girls 200m backstroke in 2.15.49 and the 800m freestyle 8.56.33.

Kenneth To (Trinity Grammar School, NSW) won the 16 years boys 50m freestyle final in 23.39 and backed up to win his second gold medal in the 16 years boys 100m breaststroke in 1.04.03.

In the boys 15 years 100m freestyle Jayden Hadler (51.72) of Commercial, Queensland beat Matthew Roberts, Novocastrian NSW, (52.84) Nathan Roughley(52.88) of Castle Hills RSL Dolphins NSW.

Hadler (2:00.79) backed up to win his second gold medal of the championships in the 15 years boys 200m butterfly beating Matt Sterrenberg (Ivanhoe Neons, VIC) 2.05.70; Ewan Jackson (New Zealand) 2.09.43 and Thomas Newton (Ivanhoe Neons, VIC) 2.10.94.

In other events:  Samantha Marshall (Cook and Phillip, NSW) won the 16 years 100m breaststroke in 1.08.34; while Jarrod Poort (Coolum Peregian, QLD)16:23.24 and Nathan Barrett (Gardens, QLD) 16:23.38 had the battle of the night in the 14 years boys 1500m freestyle. In the end it came down to a touch on the wall and Poort touched out Barrett by 0.14 of a second to win the gold.

AUSTRALIAN AGESWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2009, SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK AQUATIC CENTRE

 DAY TWO FINALSMEDAL WINNERS:

 BOYS

 17/18 years

100m backstroke B Treffers (Burley Griffin, NSW) 55.03 AUST Allcomers REC D Bell (New Zealand) 5591 - visitor B Camm(Blacktown City, NSW) 56.56 B Edmonds (Norwood SA) 57.32

400m IM R Pavoni (Great Britain) 4:18.69 - visitor T Fraser-Holmes (Hunter, NSW) 4:20.09 AUST REC A Harrington (Great Britain) 4:23.88 - visitor D Potts (Norwood SA) 4:27.05 D Tranter (Liverpool, NSW) 4:27.74

18 & Under 4x100m freestyle relay Nunawading (VIC) 3:30.14 (M Pryor, T Mahoney, J Day, S Sheppard) St Peters Western (QLD) 3:30.30 (N Cobbe, N McKendry, N Rider, R Napoleon) SLC Aquadot (NSW)  S Flint, R Chapman, R Hanson, C Timms)

16 years

400m freestyle N McKendry (St Peters Western, QLD) 3:55.11 C Dobrosky (Canada) 3:57.05 - visitor M Donaldson (New Zealand) 4:00.66 - visitor H Pullinger (SOPAC Swim Club, NSW) 4:00.93 W Eggleton (Unattached, NSW) 4:03.88

50m freestyle K To (Trinity Grammar School, NSW) 23.45 J Alati (CA Tritons, VIC) 23.60 J James (Mackay, QLD) 23.88

100m breaststroke K To (Trinity Grammar School, NSW) 1:04.03 L Kinneally (Brisbane Jets, QLD) 1:04.57 S Blakeway (East Brisbane, QLD) 1:06.28  

15 years

100m freestyle J Hadler (Commercial, QLD) 51.72 N Roughley (Castle Hill RSL Dolphins, NSW) 52.84 M Roberts(Novocastrian, NSW) 52.88

200m butterfly J Hadler (Commercial, QLD) 2.00.79 M Sterrenberg (Ivanhoe Neons, VIC) 2:05.70 E Jackson (New Zealand) 2:09.43 - visitor T Newton(Ivanhoe Neons, VIC) 2:10.54

14 years

1500m freestyle J Poort (Coolum Peregian, QLD) 16:23.24 N Barrett (Gardens, QLD) 16:23.38 R Hendry (Aquajets, WA) 16:39.45

200m backstroke C Main (New Zealand) 2:08.72 - visitor L Bremmer (Aqua Attack, WA) 2:10.17 T Cottam (Barker Aquatic, NSW) 2:11.66 C McEvoy (Southport Olympic, QLD) 2:13.87

4x50m freestyle relay Brothers (QLD)1:42.42 (R Eugster, J Gilliland, Z Whenuaroa, K Donaldson) Knox Pymble(NSW) 1:42.70 (L Mackay, J Stanwell, M van Westing, M Yeo) Nunawading(VIC) 1:43.70 (J Currie, S Whitten, T  Groves, E Lim)

13 years

100m butterfly R Leong (Townsville Marlins, QLD) 1:00.21 A Williams (Gladstone, QLD) 1:00.44 I Jones (Warrnambool, VIC) 1:02.66

200m IM A Williams (Gladstone, QLD) 2:15.80 R Leong (Townsville Marlins, QLD) 2:18.71 Y Tkachenko(Burnside, SA) 2:19.56

GIRLS

17/18 years

100m backstroke B Hocking (Albury, NSW) 1:00.03 G Loh (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) 1:02.12 T Papaemanouil (Norwood, SA) 1:03.49

400m IM B Evans (City of Perth, WA) 4:43.38 E Gandy (Great Britain) 4:48.11 - visitor A Levings (Pro-Ma Miami, QLD) 4:51.21 T Papaemanouil (Norwood, SA) 4:52.71

18 & Under 4x100m freestyle relay Pro-Ma Miami (QLD) 3:48.92 (M Durso, A Levings, K Marquenie, J Neilson) Nunawading (VIC) 3:52.54 (E Zalewski, B Bennett, N Hanlen, B Bennett) Norwood (SA) 3:53.55 (J Ash, J O'Neil, L Cutting, T Papaemanouil)

16 years

400m freestyle E Fullerton (Pro-Ma Miami, QLD) 4:11.29 K Goldman (Pro-Ma Miami, QLD) 4:13.43 L Seeman (Canada) 4:17.95 - visitor B Bennett (Nunawading, VIC) 4:19.78

50m freestyle C Campbell (Indooroopilly, QLD) 25.29 E Seebohm (Brothers, QLD) 25.73 N Mee (Uniswim, NSW) 26.39

100m Breaststroke S Marshall (Cook & Phillip, NSW) 1:08.34 A Scott (Albany Creek, QLD) 1:10.55 = B Pasloski (Canada) 1:10.89 - visitor = J Legge (Novocastrian, NSW) 1:10.89

15 years

100m freestyle A Gabor (Canada) 56.52 - visitor T Warrener (Warwick, QLD) 56.75 C Vanlandeghem (Canada) 56.85 - visitor Z Diamond (Liverpool, NSW) 57.04 T Wallace (Pelican Waters Caloundra, QLD) 57.61

200m butterfly M Bath (St Peters Western, QLD) 2:17.07 E Smith (Hunter, NSW) 2:17.63 M Connelly (Griffith, NSW) 2:18.37

Girls 14 years

800m freestyle M Maselli-Sheridan (Commercial QLD) 8:56.33 S Demestichas (Tigersharks, VIC) 9:03.02 J Keire (Canada) 9:08.21 - visitor L Crockart (Ryde Carlile, NSW) 9:13.70

200m backstroke M Maselli-Sheridan (Commercial, QLD) 2:15.49 K Ngawati (TAS Swimming, QLD) 2:22.18 S Marceddo(Ginninderra, NSW) 2:23.60

4x50m freestyle relay St PetersWestern (QLD) 1:48.83 (M Wilson, C Hickey, M Groves, Y Kulka) Chandler (QLD) 1:51.75 (H Williams, K Simkin, M Edwards, K Dimou) Revesby Workers (NSW) 1:52.16 (G Turnbull, S Abbott, A Steed, M Short)

13 years

100m butterfly Y Kulka (St Peters Western, QLD) 59.97 AUST 13 YEARS REC M Groves (St Peters Western, QLD) 1:01.25 V Puhlmann (Redcliffe Leagues, QLD) 1:02.83

200m IM C Buchanan (Acacia Bayside, QLD) 2:25.79 M Middleton (Aquaburn, NSW) 2:25.79 L Neale (C.Y.M.S. St Edmunds, QLD)  2:26.12

CLUB POINTSCORE

St PetersWestern, QLD (312.50)

Pro-Ma Miami,QLD (298.50)

Nunawading, VIC(286)

Norwood, SA(182.50)

Brothers, QLD(169)

STATE POINTSCORE

QLD 110

VIC 43

NSW 36

WA 26

SA 6

TAS 3

Full results of Day 2 Finals can be found in the results section of the Swimming Australia website at www.swimming.org.au