WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DOLPHINS LINE UP FOR AGE GOLD

Sydney, April 15: FINA World Championship rookies Merindah Dingjan, Ellen Fullerton and Blair Evans have their eyes set on more gold on night three of the Australian Swimming Championships tonight at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

AIS-based Dingjan from Southside Wesley, WA, looked strong in the heats of the 17-18 years 200m freestyle, clocking 2.01.51. Brooke Hanson Clarke reports....

Dingjan was selected on the Australian team for this year's World Championships as a member of the 4x200m freestyle relay squad.

Tonight she will have an early taste of one of her international rivals with Great Britain's Melbourne-based Ellen Gandy (2.04.70) who is also bound for Rome, as well as her Australian World Championship team mate Evans (City of Perth, WA) 2:04.52.

Others to watch are Pro-Ma Miami training partners Kelly Marquenie (2.02.51) and Amy Levings (2.03.79) as well as Norwood SA's Tiffany Papemanouil (2.02.51) who qualified in second place.

"It was good to have a solid heat swim and a good hit out, I was really happy with my 50m freestyle win on night one and I'm looking forward to racing the final of the 200m tonight," said 18-year-old Dingjan after her heat swim.

In the boys 17-18 years 200m freestyle Daniel Smith from Pro-Ma Miami QLD looked great, clocking 1.50.55 - just half a second off his best time.

Tonight Smith will race Thomas Parris 1.51.73 of Great Britain and the new Australian record holder in the 400m individual medley Thomas Fraser-Holmes (Hunter, NSW) 1.52.37.

Fullerton (Pro-Ma Miami, QLD) swam a comfortable 400m individual medley heat after her win in the 400m freestyle last night. Fullerton's time of 4:53.66 ranks her first for tonight's final ahead Canadian Lindsay Seemann 4:56.62 and Pro- Ma Miami team mate Katie Goldman 4:57.78.

Mikkayla Maselli-Sheridan (Commercial, QLD) the winner of four gold medals so far at these Championships, continued her dominance, qualifying first in the girls 14 years 200m butterfly in a time of 2.20.93, ahead of Kaelyn Hann (Redcliffe Leagues, QLD) 2.21.54 and Samantha Redman (Novocastrian, NSW) 2.21.72.

Maselli-Sheridan 59.11 also qualified third for tonight's final of the 14 years 100m freestyle behind Adelaide Hart (Applecross, WA) 58.48 and Emma McKeon (Wests Illawarra, NSW) 58.51. 

Junior Pan Pac medallist Tessa Wallace cruised through the heats of the 15 year girls 100m breaststroke qualifying in first position for tonight's final. Wallace (Pelican Waters Caloundra, QLD) clocked 1.14.04 ahead of rivals Montana Sansby (Waterworx, QLD) 1.14.27 and Melissa Vukovic (Maribyrnong, VIC) 1.14.67.

Wallace( 26.90) will also contest the final of the 50m freestyle after a strong swim this morning that qualified her in third position behind Tegan Warrener (Warwick, QLD) 26.36 and Canadian Chantel Vanlandghem 26.90.   

The winner of two gold medals so far at these championships, Jayden Hadler (52.90) of Commercial, Queensland, will be the one to watch in the 15 years 400m freestyle final after clocking 4:07.20 in this morning's heats.

Regan Leong (Townsville Marlins, QLD) also the winner of two gold medals this week has qualified in lane four in the final of the 13 years & under 200m backstroke. Leong's time of 2.16.59 puts him a second faster than the rest of tonight's field.

Seventeen-year-old Rebecca Kemp (Mackay, QLD), the winner of the 17-18 years 100m breaststroke on night one of the championships is the fastest qualifier for to night's final of the 200m breaststroke. Kemp smashed her personal best by more than a second to clock 2:31.11 three seconds ahead of her nearest rival.

In other heats this morning Buster Sykes (Brothers, QLD) 1.09.13 is fastest qualifier for tonight's final of the boys 15 years 100m breaststroke.

Caitlin Sinclair (MLC Marlins, NSW) 1.04.04 will swim from lane four in the final of the 16 years 100m breaststroke.

Zach Featherstone (Southport Olympic, QLD) 2.09.67 has qualified first in the final of the 14 years 200m butterfly.

Featherstone 53.98 will also race the 14 years 100m freestyle after qualifying second behind Te Haumi Maxwell (MLC Marlins, NSW) 53.35. Tonight Maxwell will be racing against the clock to break his own Australian Age record.

In the girls 15 years 400m freestyle Aleysha Tokai (Tigersharks, VIC) 4:20.21 will swim for gold from lane four in tonight's final. Max Ackermann (Warwick, QLD) 58.35 is the fastest qualifier in the boys 16 years 100m backstroke.

Other top qualifiers for night three finals include: Jeremy Meyer (Traralgon, VIC) 2.20.95, Hayley Baker (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) 2.23.13 in the girls 13 and under 200m backstroke, 16 years boys 400m individual medley and Matthew Roberts (Novocastrian, NSW) 24.00 in the boys 15 years 50m freestyle, Mitchel Donaldson New Zealand 4.36.64 and Australian Llewellyn Little (Nunawading, VIC) 4.36.82.

Full results of Day 3 heats can be found in the results section of the Swimming Australia website at http://www.swimming.org.au/

Day Three finals begin at 6pm at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM MEMBERS IN ACTION TONIGHT
Girls 17-18 years 200m freestyle Merindah Dingjan and Blair Evans
Girls 16 years 400m individual medley Ellen Fullerton 

ENDS....