Australian Age Championships: Flynn Southam Unleashes Sizzling 22.26 Relay Split To Signal His Sprint Freestyle Intentions
Australia’s teenage freestyle sprint star Flynn Southam has signaled his intentions for the up-coming Australian Championships and World Trials Meets delivering a sizzling relay split of 22.26 on the Gold Coast tonight.
The 17-year-old wasted no time ripping out an eye-catching anchor split in Bond University’s 16-17 years 4x50m club medley relay that had tongues wagging on the pool deck on night four of the Australian Age Championships.
LET’ GO: Sprint star Flynn Southam gets fired up. Photo Courtesy: Swimming Australia.
It came 24 hours after Southam had finished second in the 17 years 400m freestyle to Chandler’s Anders McAlpine, with McAlpine winning in 3:52.50 to Southam’s 3:52.62.
It was a tantalizing preview of the next few days with his individual 50m to come tomorrow, followed by the 200m freestyle on Friday and the 100m freestyle on Saturday before a similar program of racing the following week when Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers leads the big boys into town for the Australian Open Championships.
Meanwhile, Rockhampton QLD’s Taryn Roberts continued to show her remarkable all-round abilities tonight taking a rare swimming double in the 200m breaststroke and then unleashing an impressive victory in the 1500m freestyle.
Roberts scored a powerful win in the girls 15-17 years 1500m freestyle, clocking a personal best time of 16:46.35 after her 2:34.83 to claim the 200m breaststroke.
The Shane Kingston-coached Roberts has been a prolific performer at National Age level for the past three years and her assault to win back-to-back 200 and 400IM crowns at this meet is certainly off to a flying start.
Swimming under the Rocky City Swim Club banner, 16-year-old Roberts has now taken her meet tally to three gold and a silver after winning the 400m freestyle and finishing second in the 100m breaststroke, respectively on her opening night.
But her busy week-long campaign has only just begun, with another six events to come – the 50m breaststroke, 200 and 800m freestyle, 200m butterfly and the 200 and 400m IM before she competes her 10-event program.
BOYD WITH SUCCESS: Nunawading’s Isabella Boyd started her campaign with a relay win for Victoria befire her double individual gold. Photo Courtesy: Swimming Australia.
Meanwhile St Peters Western’s emerging backstroke star Jaclyn Barclay showed that she is ready for a great week with a convincing 16 years 50m backstroke win in her personal best time of 27.94 – putting her into the Australian All-Time Top Ten with her busy program about to hot up.
Barclay scored a convincing win over Mackenzie Burns (St Andrews, QLD) 28.81 with Charlotte Hinze (Helensvale, QLD) and Olivia Baillie (Traralgon, VIC) dead-heating for third in 29.61
Other standout swims tonight came from Nunawading VIC’s Isabella Boyd who has started her campaign in fine style – winning the 200IM in a personal best time of 2:14.30, before winning the 50m butterfly in another pb of 26.73.
Her team mate Evan Chee who won the corresponding boys 17-years 200IM in a real shoot-out, clocking 2:03.49 and keeping Wagga Wagga’s Jamie Mooney (2:03.95) at bay in the closing stages, with The Hills, NSW Callum Thomas (2:067.37) third.
Last night’s 17-year’s boys 400m freestyle winner, an ecstatic Benjamin Goedemans (St Peters Western, QLD) who clocked another personal best time to take out the 800m freestyle, dipping under eight minutes with a time of 7:59.26.
Warringah’s Lachlan Davies adding the 14 years boys 50m freestyle in 24.12 to his opening night win in the 200m backstroke.
Bond’s Gideon Burnes who turned in another convincing win in the 17 years boys 200m breaststroke in a pb of 2:15.49, after his 1:02. 40 to win the 100m last night.
While his Bond teammate and “namesake” Kody Byrne won the 16 years 50m backstroke in 26.80 – out-touching Nicholas Gladen (Macquarie University) 26.89. Before Byrne (backstroke 27.12) and Burnes (breaststroke 28.70) combined with Kalani Creech (butterfly 245.93) and Commonwealth Games and World Short Course relay gold medallist Flynn Southam (freestyle 22.26) to deliver a sizzling Bond win in the Boys 16-17 years 4x50m club medley relay.
GIDDY UP: Bond’s Gideon Burnes has been unbeatable. Photo Courtesy: Swimming Australia.
Manly’s Lillie McPherson who held strong to win the 14-years 50m freestyle, in a thriller – out-touching Kaci Curtis (St Peters Western, QLD) 26.04 to 26.11 with Tribeca Liu (Griffith University, QLD) third in 26.53.
Last night’s 200m backstroke winner Macey Sheridan (Darwin, NT) who won her second gold of the meet in the 13 years 50m freestyle with an impressive 26.63 from Warringah’s Jaslyn Plummer (26.90) and Maya Zunker (Miami, QLD) 27.12.
Mackenzie Grimes (Toowoomba Grammar, QLD) and Clara Carrocci (Norwood, SA) who produced a nail-biting 14 years 200m backstroke – Grimes claiming the win from behind in 2:18.89 with Carrocci touching in 2:18.92 and Jessie Steinman (Geelong, VIC) 2:20.62 third.
Ainsley Trotter (St Peters Western, QLD) in the 15 years 50m backstroke who won the gold in 28.09 from Zoe Ammundsen (Iona College) 28.50 and Isabel Sheldrick (St Hildas WA) 29.31 – the daughter of 1987 Australian Pan Pac representative Dominic Sheldrick.
BUCKET LOADS of fun: Warringah Aquatic have had plenty to cheer about. Photo Courtesy: Swimming Australia.
RESULTS
2023 Australian Age Swimming Championships, Night Four:
GIRLS
13 years
50m freestyle
- Macey Sheridan (Darwin, NT) 26.63
- Jaslyn Plummer (Warringah, NSW) 26.90
- Maya Zunker (Miami, QLD) 27.12
200m butterfly
- Heidi Shumack (SOPAC, NSW) 2:22.72
- Brydee Reid (Sunshine Coast Grammar, QLD) 2:24.29
- Siena Gibson (Moreton Bay, QLD) 2:26.13
14 years
50m freestyle
- Lillie McPherson (Manly Swimming Club, NSW) 26.04
- Kaci Curtis (St Peters Western, QLD) 26.11
- Tribeca Liu (Griffith University, QLD) 26.53
200m backstroke
- Mackenzie Grimes (Toowoomba Grammar, QLD) 2:18.89
- Clara Carrocci (Norwood, SA) 2:18.92
- Jessie Steinman (Geelong, VIC) 2:20.62
15 years
50m backstroke
- Ainsley Trotter (St Peters Western, QLD) 28.09
- Zoe Ammundsen (Iona College, QLD) 28.50
- Isabel Sheldrick (St Hilda’s WA) 29.31
16 years
50m backstroke
- Jaclyn Barclay (St Peters Western, QLD) 27.94
- Mackenzie Burns (St Andrews, QLD) 28.81
- Charlotte Hinze (Helensvale, QLD)/Olivia Baillie (Traralgon, VIC) =29.61
15-17 years
1500m freestyle
- Taryn Roberts (Rocky City, QLD) 16:46.35
- Hannah Allen (Iona College, QLD) 16:57.71
- Sienna Deurloo (Toowoomba Grammar, QLD) 16:59.84
17 years
50m butterfly
- Isabella Boyd (Nunawading, VIC) 26.73
- Josephine Crimmins (Newmarket Racers, QLD) 27.52
- Bella Grant (Trinity Grammar, NSW) 27.67
200m individual medley
- Isabella Boyd (Nunawading, VIC) 2:14.30
- Jaimie de Lutiis (Wests Illawarra, NSW) 2:14.94
- Sophie Martin (Somerville House, QLD) 2:18.70
200m breaststroke
- Taryn Roberts (Rocky City, QLD) 2:34.83
- Audrey Dearling (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) 2:36.89
- Alannah Torrance (MLC Aquatic, NSW) 2:38.44
BOYS
14 years
50m freestyle
- Lachlan Davies (Warringah, NSW) 24.12
- Max Mangini (St Leonard’s College, VIC) 24.41
- Ishaan Mehra (TSS Aquatic, QLD) 24.55
200m butterfly
- Kayden Gibson (Gladstone South, QLD) 2:07.28
- Luke Higgs (Warringah, NSW) 2:08.68
- Sterling Tuxford (Trinity Grammar, NSW) 2:08.78
15 years
200m backstroke
- Jack Morrow (Propulsion, VIC) 2:04.34
- Daniel Holdway (Southside, QLD) 2:05.74
- Campbell Wilson-Moran (Haileybury, VIC) 2:08.29
50m freestyle
- Joshua Conias (Somerville House, QLD) 23.58
- Alexander Sillitoe (Southlake Dolphins, WA) 23.66
- Hamish Mackellar (Sunshine Coast Grammar, QLD) 23.76
16 years
50m backstroke
- Kody Byrne (Bond, QLD) 26.80
- Nicholas Gladen (Macquarie University, NSW) 26.89
- Yaroslav Zharkov (Chandler, QLD) 27.23
17 years
50m backstroke
- Joshua Kerr (Manly, NSW) 26.34
- Kai Lilienthal (Knox Pymble, NSW) 26.49
- Alexander Foreman (Kincumber Pacific Dolphins, NSW) 26.52
200m breaststroke
- Gideon Burnes (Bond, QLD) 2:15.49
- Ryan Cothill (Southport, QLD) 2:21.60
- Regan Nelson (Kent Town, SA) 2:23.14
16-18 years
800m freestyle
- Benjamin Goedemans (St Peters Western, QLD) 7:59.26
- Johann Szymanski (Highlanders, WA) 8:03.41
- Robert Thorpe (St Peters Western, QLD) 8:07.75
18 years
200m individual medley
- Evan Chee (Nunawading, VIC) 2:03.49
- Jamie Mooney (Wagga Wagga, NSW) 2:03.95
- Callum Thomas (The Hills, NSW) 2:06.37
50m butterfly
- Enoch Robb (All Saints, QLD) 24.18
- Yanning Zhang (Nunawading, VIC) 245.46
- Toby McComish (MLC Aquatic, NSW) 24.62