Para World Championships: Tokyo Golden Boys Benjamin Hance and Rowan Crothers Give Dolphins A Flying Start
Tokyo Paralympic golden boys Benjamin Hance and Rowan Crothers were amongst Australia’s four gold medal successes after the first three days of the 11th edition of the 2023 Allianz Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester with the Dolphins amassing a total of 15 medals.
The two Queenslanders were joined on the top of the podium by Melbourne’s 31-year triple Paralympic mainstay Ahmed Kelly and Sydney’s triple Tokyo medallist and world record holder Timothy Hodge.
ONE-TWO FOR GREEN AND GOLD: Gold to Rowan Crothers and silver to Tom Gallagher in the 50m freestyle for S10s . Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
Paralympic and defending champion, Crothers (Yeronga Park QLD: Kate Sparkes) and Tokyo bronze medallist Tom Gallagher (Somerset, QLD: Ashley Callus) gave the Dolphins plenty to “cooee” about on the opening night of the meet with their 1-2 finish in the 50m freestyle, S10 final.
Crothers winning in 23.42 and Gallagher, the former WA and Gold Coast surf lifesaver, taking silver in 23.70 in his first serious hit out over the 50m dash as he sets his sights on a second Games in Paris.
Current world record holder and Paralympic champion Hance (St Andrews, QLD; Ashley Delaney) posted a new Championship record time to defend his men’s 100m backstroke title in the S14 category.
Hance posted a new Championship record time of 57.26 and not even a broken suit could slow him down as he powered down the final 50m to capture yet another title in his pet event.
Hance was quick to point out that he remains undefeated and vowing to go under 55 seconds, after winning with 57.26s in a broken suit.
“At the turn, my suit ripped at the cord so basically on the way back everything was filling up with water,” Hance said. “It was like resistance training. I thought ‘My goodness, not now’, but I pulled through.”
WORTH THE WAIT FOR GOLD: Fourteen years after his debut Ahmed Kelly finally celebrates World Championship gold in Manchester. Photo Courtesy: World Para Swimming.
For Kelly, one of the faces of the Australian Paralympic movement, it was his first ever World Championship gold medal and it came in the S3, SM3 150m individual medley.
Kelly was the first to strike gold at the pool on the second night with a standout swim and his time of 2:58.59 was 20 seconds quicker than the silver medallist and almost five seconds faster than his heat swim of 3:03.19.
It comes 14-years after Kelly (Yara Plenty Waves, VIC; Alex Hirschauer) first represented Australia in the 2009 Oceania Championships – a career that has spanned three Paralympics in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
Kelly won his first Para World’s medal – an IM silver in London in 2019 and his first Paralympic medal also silver in his specialist IM in Tokyo in 2021.
“To put it all together and to walk away with the gold medal in front of an amazing team and staff that have worked really, really hard … to come away with that, it’s amazing,” Kelly said.
While in the SM9 Men’s 200m Individual Medley, it was the world record holder Tim Hodge (ACU Blacktown; Misha Payne) who claimed gold, also in a new Championship Record time.
It came with a new Championship Record time of 2:12.74 – faster than his time in last year’s championship, and not far off his world record set earlier this year on the Gold Coast.
Hodge led the race from start to finish after cruising through his heat in a time of 2:14.54.
“Being able to win another gold medal and call myself a world champion once more is a great feeling,” said Hodge.
“I’m really happy with how the race went. I stuck to my plan and hit a number of key goals.”
ON THE FLY: Australia’s Timothy Hodge has the Midas touch. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr/Swimming Australia
Hodge won his second medal of the meet, taking silver in the 100m butterfly in a time of 59.74.
It was Tokyo Paralympic and Commonwealth Games medallist Keira Stephens (Southport, QLD); Sean Eels) in the women’s 100m breaststroke S9 who locked down Australia’s first medal of the meet on the opening night – taking bronze in a time of 1:16.73, in a a gutsy swim from lane six.
While Jack Ireland (University of QLD; David Heyden) secured his first ever World Championship individual medal, winning bronze in the men’s 200m freestyle S14, in 1:55.36.
Ireland won silver at last year’s Para World Swimming Championships in the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle relay S14, also taking home bronze in last year’s Commonwealth Games Men’s 200m Freestyle S14.
Jenna Jones (USC Spartans, QLD; Harley Connolly) is taking home silver after swimming a PB of 1:12.27 in the final of the women’s 100m Backstroke S12.
With no heats in the morning session, Jones was fresh and firing for the final, only realising the result after getting out of the water.
Then it was Col Pearse (Nunawading, VIC; Joel Finck) and Alex Saffy (Bunbury, WA; Martin Roberts) who won silver and bronze respectively in the men’s 200m individual medley SM10, both posting personal best times of 2:13.68 and 2:16.07 respectively.
While Commonwealth Games champion and world record holder Katja Dedekind started her campaign with silver in the women’s 100m freestyle S13 in a time of 59.54 – her first medal in Manchester – adding to her impressive medal tally of a gold and two silver from last year in Madeira.
Australia’s medal haul continued with Emily Beecroft (USC Spartans; Harley Connolly) winning bronze in the women’s 100m butterfly S9 in a personal best time of 1:08.66.
Day three had begun with Jake Michel (Carina, QLD; Brian Glass) and Paige Leonhardt(USC Spartans, QLD; Harley Connolly) both bagging bronze medals.
Michel in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB14 in 1:04.62 and Leonhardt in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB14 in a season’s best time of 1:16.50.
SILVER LINING: For Australia’s Jenna Jones in the Women’s S12 100m backstroke. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia)≥