ROME BOUND TEENS CHASE GOLDEN FINALE
Sydney, April 18: World Championship team members Merindah Dingjan and Ellen Fullerton will lead the way on the final night of competition when the 2009 Australian Age Championships conclude at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. Brooke Hanson Clarke reports....AIS scholarship holder Dingjan (Southside Wesley, WA) who clocked 56.02 in this morning's heats of the in the 17-18 years 100m freestyle, is aiming for her third gold medal after qualifying ahead of Tiffany Papaemanouil (Norwood, SA) 56.89 and Melanie Durso (Pro-Ma Miami, QLD) 57.32.
Dingjan, a member of the 4x200m freestyle relay squad for the World Championships in Rome this July, has already claimed gold in the 50m and 200m freestyle at these championships.
Fellow World Championship rookie Fullerton (Pro-Ma Miami, QLD) will finish her busy program tonight with the straight final of the 16 years girls 800m
freestyle against Junior Pan Pac 10km open water gold medallist Belinda Bennett (Nunawading, VIC) and Canadian Lindsay Seemann.
The top medal winners at this week's Australian Age Championships Mikkayla Maselli-Sheridan and Regan Leong will be back in action tonight with their eyes on more gold.
Maselli-Sheridan (Commercial, QLD) will race for her ninth gold medal after qualifying in fourth place in the girls 14 years 200m freestyle after a comfortable heat time of 2.09.44.
In tonight's final of the 13 years & under boys 100m backstroke Leong (Townsville Marlins, QLD) 1.01.59 will be racing for his seventh gold of the championships, qualifying in lane four.
Brisbane wonder kid Yolane Kukla (1.06.10) of St Peters Western QLD swam a personal best by two seconds, qualifying in lane four for the final of the 13 years & under girls 100m backstroke.
Kukla will race for her fifth gold medal against Courtney Shaw (Mount Annan, NSW) 1.07.27 and Morgan Timms (St Peters Western, QLD) 1.07.37.
Junior Commonwealth Games champion Lachlan Staples (Kingswim, NSW) will be looking to add another gold to his 100m butterfly win earlier in the meet.
Staples swam a comfortable 2:01.33 in the heats of the 17-18 years boy's 200m butterfly ahead of Grant Irvine (St Peters Western, QLD) 2:02.90, Great Britain's Roberto Pavoni (2:03.00) and Calum Timms (SLC Aquadot, NSW) 2:03.71.
Staples holds the tenth fastest time by an Australian after clocking a 1.57.53 at the Telstra Australian Championships last month and tonight's final gives him another chance to swim a personal best time.
In the 17-18 years girls 200m butterfly visitor Ellen Gandy of Great Britain qualified seven seconds faster than her closest rival, recording a time of 2.10.37 in front of Australian trio Amy Levings (Pro-Ma Miami, QLD) 2.17.31, Jessica Ash (Norwood, SA) 2.17.33 and Stacey Hansford (Bankstown Sports, NSW) 2.18.97.
In the boys 14 years 200m freestyle Southport Olympic swimmers Cameron McEvoy (2:00.64) and Zach Featherstone (2:00.71) have qualified first and third for the final. Featherstone will be racing for his fourth gold medal of the championships but will also have tough competition from second qualifier Jarrod Poort (Coolum Peregian, QLD) 2.00.70.
Jayden Hadler (Commercial, QLD) has given himself the opportunity of winning two more gold medals in the 15 years 200m individual medley and 100m butterfly. His current tally stands at four gold and one silver.
In the 200m individual medley Hadler's time of (2.13.18) qualified first ahead of the winner of two gold medals at these championships Mitch Larkin (Brisbane Jets, QLD) in 2.15.17 and Daniel Egan (Moonee Valley Aquatic, VIC) with a 2:15.77.
Hadler returned to the pool to again qualify fastest in the 100m butterfly clocking a time of 54.61 in front of Matthew Roberts (Novocastrian, NSW) in 57.87 and Matt Sterrenberg (Ivanhoe Neons, VIC) 58.32.
Daniel Smith (Pro-Ma Miami, QLD) is the fastest qualifier in the 17-18 years 100m freestyle after clocking a fast heat time of 49.92 ahead of James Magnussen (Port Macquarie, NSW) 51.45 and Australian Youth Olympic Festival gold medallist Luke Kerswell (Southside Aquatics, QLD) 51.52.
In the 13 years and under boys 400m individual medley Nunawading's 11- year-old Nicholas Groenewald has qualified fastest in a time of 5.00.41.
Caitlin Sinclair (MLC Marlins, NSW) 2.19.29 will go for her second gold medal in the final of the 16 years girls 200m backstroke, while in the boys Joshua Beaver (Tigersharks, VIC) 2.06.48 will also swim from lane four.
Other fastest qualifiers for night six finals include:
Melanie Bath (St Peters Western, QLD) 1.02.27 - 15 years girls 100m butterfly
Lennard Bremer (Aqua Attack, WA) 2.26.47 - 14 years boys 20om breaststroke
Kate Dimou (Chandler, QLD) 2.39.50 - 14 years girls 100m breaststroke
Natasha Fung (Canada) 2.19.25 - 15 years 200m individual medley Jacqueline Keire (Canada) 2.08.41 -14 years girls 200m freestyle
Tianni Gilmour (Coolum Peregian, QLD) 5.13.78 - 13 years & under 400m individual medley
LEADING MEDAL WINNERS
GIRLS
Mikkayla Maselli-Sheridan (Commercial QLD)
(8) GOLD
14 years
800m freestyle 8:56.33
100m backstroke 1:03.66
200m backstroke 2:15.49
100m butterfly 1:01.31
200m butterfly 2:14.51
200m IM 2:17.83
400m IM 4:54.84
(1) BRONZE
100m freestyle 57.92
BOYS
Regan Leong (Townsville Marlins, QLD)
(5) GOLD
1st 13 years & under
100m freestyle 53.96
200m freestyle 1:59.45
100m butterfly 1:00.21
200m butterfly 2:14.29
200m backstroke 2:15.53
(1) SILVER
200m IM 2:18.71
Day Six finals begin at 6pm at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
Full results of Day 6 heats can be found in the results section of the Swimming Australia website at www.swimming.org.au