Swimming Otago were pleased to host the South Island Junior Championships from 18-19 February in Dunedin. 43 Otago athletes competed at these championships, breaking 145 personal best times and taking home 74 top three placings! A fantastic effort from our Otago team, and great to see so many smiling faces over the weekend of racing.
Three Otago records were broken over the weekend, congratulations to Neptune Swim Club's Sophia Kivileva on her new records!
🟡 Female 10 Years SC 100m Freestyle
1:09.49 (previous record held by Bella McEntyre at 1:10.20, set in 2020)
🔵 Female 10 Years SC 100m Individual Medley
1:20.25 (previous record held by Claire Kenny at 1:20.52, set in 2022)
🟡 Female 10 Years SC 200m Backstroke
2:46.28 (previous record held by Olivia McLean at 2:46.75, set in 2020)
Sophia Kivileva (Neptune), broke three Otago records at the 2023 South Island Junior Championships
We also had the pleasure of spending session one with eight of New Zealand's top swimmers, all of whom train under the Swim Dunedin programme, for a showcase race and for the junior athletes to meet. The session started with an exciting showcase race, where each of the eight athletes swam their stroke of choice over a 100m or 200m distance. Junior athletes from across the South Island had the chance to watch Olympian Zac Reid, Olympian and 2 x World Championships medallist Erika Fairweather, along with World Championships finalist Caitlin Deans, New Zealand representatives Luan Grobbelaar, Esme Paterson, and Kane Follows, Junior Pan Pacific Championships finalist Kale Twist, and New Zealand Championships finalist Curtis Mellsop. It was a great spectacle, with these senior athletes laying down some impressive times - a great sign as they look toward the New Zealand Championships in coming months and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Click here to check out all the photos from the 2023 South Island Junior Championships
We would like to congratulate Kiwi Swim Club's Gillian Sugiyama on passing her Judge of Strokes (JOS) assessment, and becoming our newest accredited JOS! Outstanding effort, Gillian, and thank you for all you do on pool deck!
Gillian Sugiyama (Kiwi), newly accredited JOS
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Mixed 4x50m Freestyle Relay 🥈 Neptune Swim Club 'A' - Annalise Miller, Sophia Kivileva, Harper Bannister, Hugo Beeby 🥉 Kiwi ASC 'A' - Leo Blair, Isabela Green-Santos, Sophie Wellington, Oliver Isles |
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Mixed 6x50m Freestyle Kick Relay 🥉 Neptune Swim Club - Ivy Weatherston Harvey, Meabh Russell, Annalise Miller, Emme Beeby, Mathilda McCall, Jack McGrath |
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Mixed 4x50m Medley Relay 🥈 Kiwi ASC 'A' - Isabela Green-Santos, Oliver Isles, Sophie Wellington, Theo Kindiak 🥉 Neptune Swim Club 'A' - Harper Bannister, Sophia Kivileva, Hugo Beeby, Annalise Miller |
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Harper Bannister (NEP) |
🥉 Female 12 Years 200m Backstroke |
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Hugo Beeby (NEP) |
🥉 Male 12 Years 50m Breaststroke |
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Leo Blair (KIW) |
🥈 Male 11 Years 100m Backstroke |
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Angus Burke (OAM) |
🥇 Male 11 Years 50m Freestyle |
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Finn Garrett (OAM) |
🥈 Male 11 Years 50m Backstroke |
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Isabela Green-Santos (KIW) |
🥉 Female 11 Years 200m Breaststroke |
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Eivi Isles (KIW) |
🥉 Female 10&U 50m Freestyle |
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Oliver Isles (KIW) |
🥇 Male 12 Years 100m Breaststroke |
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Leila Kindiak (KIW) |
🥇 Female 10&U 100m Breaststroke |
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Theo Kindiak (KIW) |
🥇 Male 11 Years 100m Breaststroke |
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Sophia Kivileva (NEP) |
🥇 Female 10&U 50m Freestyle |
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Ropati Kohlhase (NEP) |
🥇 Male 11 Years 50m Breaststroke |
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Milly Lietze (SOS) |
🥉 Female 12 Years 50m Freestyle |
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Ricarda Marshall (QTN) |
🥉 Female 10&U 200m Breaststroke |
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Annalise Miller (NEP) |
🥇 Female 11 Years 200m Freestyle |
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Meabh Russell (NEP) |
🥉 Female 10&U 100m Breaststroke |
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Gwendolyn Somerville (KIW) |
🥉 Female 10&U 200m Freestyle |
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Xanthe Spence (QTN) |
🥇 Female 12 Years 200m Butterfly |
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Dane Tauti (SOS) |
🥈 Male 10&U 100m Backstroke |
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Mia Tauti (SOS) |
🥇 Female 10&U 100m Butterfly |
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Sophie Wellington (KIW) |
🥉 Female 11 Years 100m Butterfly |
Otago athletes that attended the 2023 South Island Junior Championships:
Alexandra - Elsie Anderson, Madison Mannix
Kiwi - Ella Appleton, Leo Blair, Isabela Green-Santos, Evie Halligan, Cameron Hart, Eivi Isles, Oliver Isles, Fergus Kindiak, Leila Kindiak, Theo Kindiak, Gwendolyn Somerville, Sophie Wellington
Neptune - Harper Bannister, Emme Beeby, Hugo Beeby, Alex Bruce, Sophia Kivileva, Ropati Kohlhase, Fletcher McCall, Mathilda McCall, Jack McGrath, Annalise Miller, Meabh Russell, Ivy Weatherston Harvey
Oamaru - Angus Burke, Finn Garrett, Jackson Stratford, Macey Stratford
Queenstown - Ricarda Marshall, Sophie Palmer, Lily Proffit, Ariana Salek, Xanthe Spence
South Otago Sharks - Milly Lietze, Dane Tauti, Mia Tauti, Jared Wallis, Mackenzie Wallis
Taieri - Barrett Smart
Wanaka - Kaitlyn Bagley
