Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, September 6. NATHAN Capp saved the best until last, with a national record in the final event to join the three established swim stars in qualifying for December’s FINA World Short Course Championships.
Capp (Greerton) was in a league of his own in the 1500m freestyle at the New Zealand Short Course Championships in Wellington tonight, taking 16 seconds off Danyon Loader’s 22 year old record with a new time of 14:38.74.
His time also going under the World Short Course qualifying time of 14:47.16, where he will join Lauren Boyle, Matthew Stanley and Glenn Snyders in the team to compete at Doha in December.
The world championships will round out an impressive year of performances for Boyle (United), who will defend her 800m freestyle world title at the event.
Snyders has also enjoyed an excellent international season claiming a bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke at the recent Pan Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast and making the final in the same event at the Commonwealth Games.
He placed fourth in the 100m breaststroke last night at the Singapore Swim Stars meet, which invited the top eight swimmers in the world for each event.
Stanley, below his best at Glasgow, broke his own New Zealand record in the 200m freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships. He was awarded the bronze medal in the 400m freestyle at the world short course championships in Turkey two years ago after the original medallist failed a drugs test.
Swimming New Zealand High Performance Director Luis Villanueva expected the team for the World Championships to be a small but select group.
“Most of the swimmers were required to break their own personal bests. It’s a small team but World Short Course is not part of our priorities,” Villanueva said.
“We need to focus on our preparation for the World Long Course Championships in 2015 which is what is really important for us.
“World Short Course can be helpful for some swimmers, but only the top ones. That is why the qualifying standards were really difficult.
“It will be good for them to test themselves against the world’s best in short course but what is really important is preparation for long course.”
Most of the swimmers including Boyle will be taking a well-deserved break next week after a long campaign.
“I’m going to be quite well rested after my break so I’ll only have two months of training and I don’t really have any expectations (at the short course championships) at the moment,” she said.
“It’s nice swimming short course just to mix it up, it’s different than the long course and I get to work more on my turns and my starts.”
Capp, who broke the national short course 800m freestyle record recently, was delighted after he missed out on qualifying for the Commonwealth Games.
“I’m over the moon. It’s really topped off an awesome week for me,” Capp said. “I had a little bit of disappointment at the start of the year not making the Commonwealth Games and then been training all year for this really and I’ve done as I could have hope for. I’m stoked.”
Capp had plenty of support from his fellow swimmers from Swimming New Zealand’s High Performance Centre tonight in a strong performance.
“I did three weeks with Denis Cotterill which really helped that showed me a different level of competition.”
In other swims tonight Howick Pakuranga’s Daniel Hunter won the men’s 100m freestyle in 48.63 while Laura Quilter (North Shore) took the title in the women’s event in 54.30.
Junior Pan Pacific medallist Bradlee Ashby (Fairfield) took honours in the men’s 200m butterfly in 1:56.73 ahead of Isaac Foote (Masterton, 1:58.29) and this morning’s fastest qualifier Wilrich Coetzee (North Shore, 1:58.50).
Charlotte Webby (Aquabladz) clocked 2:12.79 in the women’s 200m butterfly to top the field followed by 15 year old Yeonsu Lee (North Shore, 2:13.72) and 14 year old Mya Rasmussen (Kiwi West Aquatics, Manawatu, 2:17.50).
In the splash and dash of the 50m backstroke events Andrew Trembath (Neptune) took the men’s honours in 25.18 while teen star Gabrielle Fa’amausili (Roskill) championed the women’s event in 27.95.
In the Para-Swimming Jesse Reynolds finished off a successful week in the pool taking the men’s 100m freestyle title with Tupou Neiufi claiming gold in the women’s event. Hamish McLean (Wanaka) and Rebecca Dubber (North Shore) were winners in the 50m backstroke respectively.
Day 5 Results:
Men 100m freestyle: Daniel Hunter (Howick Pakuranga) 48.63, 1; Nielsen Varoy (West Auckland Aquatics) 48.86, 2; Daniel Gregory-Campbell (North Shore) 49.21, 3.
Women 100m freestyle: Laura Quilter (North Shore) 54.30, 1; Lauren Boyle (United, Auckland) 54.64, 2; Georgia Marris (United, Auckland) 55.97, 3.
Men 200m butterfly: Bradlee Ashby (Fairfield) 1:56.73, 1; Isaac Foote (Masterton) 1:58.50, 2; Wilrich Coetzee (North Shore) 1:58.50, 3.
Women 200m butterfly: Charlotte Webby (Aquabladz New Plymouth) 2:12.79, 1; Yeonsu Lee (North Shore) 2:13.72, 2; Mya Rasmussen (Kiwi West Aquatics, Manawatu) 2:17.50, 3.
Men 50m backstroke: Andrew Trembath (Neptune, Otago) 25.18, 1; Corneille Coetzee (North Shore) 25.33, 2; Jonathan Burfield-Mills (Heretaunga Sundevils, Hawkes Bay) 25.57, 3.
Women 50m backstroke: Gabrielle Fa’amausili (Roskill, Auckland)27.95, 1; Bobbi Gichard (Greendale, Hawkes Bay) 28.28, 2; Rebekah Bradley (United, Auckland) 28.48 & Paige Flynn (St Peters, Waikato) 28.48, 3 =.
Men 1500m freestyle: Nathan Capp (Greerton, Bay of Plenty) 14:38.74, 1 (New Zealand Record & World Short Course qualifying time); Hamish Trlin (Capital) 15:23.53, 2; Dominic Mildon (Howick Pakuranga) 15:35.88, 3.
Para Swimmers:
Men 100m freestyle: Jesse Reynolds (Fairfield) 59.34, 1; Christopher Arbuthnott (Ice Breaker Aquatics, Manawatu) 1:01.42, 2; Hamish McLean (Wanaka) 1:23.02, 3.
Women 100m freestyle: Tupou Neiufi (Howick Pakuranga) 1:12.46, 1; Kate McKelvie (Greendale) 1:27.39, 2; Sarah Fuher (St Peters, Waikato) 2:05.86, 3.
Men 50m backstroke: Hamish McLean (Wanaka) 48.97, 1.
Womens 50m backstroke: Rebecca Dubber (North Shore) 40.74, 1; Tupou Neiufi (Howick Pakuranga) 37.29, 2; Jacquelyn Ruth (Qeii, Christchurch) 1:00.94, 3.
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