World Championships, Doha: Former WA Gymnast Iona Anderson Makes A Quantum Leap Towards Australian Olympic Trials
A former Western Australian gymnastics star has cartwheeled her way into Australian Olympic Team calculations with a sterling World Championship silver in Doha.
Swimming in her first World Championship final, 18-year-old Iona Anderson was out quick, turning at the 50m mark in second place, before steaming home behind US star Claire Curzan to claim silver in a thrilling 100m backstroke final.
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Canada’s Ingrid Wilm took the bronze and a second exciting Aussie teen, 17-year-old Jaclyn Barclay finishing a close-up fourth.
Anderson, from the Breakers Swim Club, out of Perth, WA and coached by former British coach Ben Higson at the WA Institute of Sport (WAIS), clocked a personal best time of 59.12 with 2023 World Junior champion, Barclay hot on her heels in 59.28.
The times have rocketed the pair up the Australian All-time rankings which is led by the world’s premier backstroker, Olympic, 2023 World champion and world record holder Kaylee McKeown in 57.33.
AUSTRALIAN ALL TIME TOP TEN
100m backstroke
- 57.33 Kaylee McKeown (WR)
- 58.23 Emily Seebohm
- 58.42 Mollie O’Callaghan
- 58.60 Minna Atherton
- 58.75 Madison Wilson
- 59.12 Iona Anderson
- 59.28 Jaclyn Barclay
- 59.29 Belinda Hocking
- 59.66 Holly Barratt
- 59.84 Sophie Edington
Anderson saying afterwards she was just grateful to be in Doha on the Australian team and to have the chance to race.
“it’s given me a little boost before Olympic Trials, and to just be on the world stage is incredible,” Anderson said.
“When asked about pre-race nerves, Anderson said: “I just go about racing the same way whether it’s WA State Championships or an international meet … and it’s nice to have this experience with Jaclyn, it’s good to be able to walk out together and have someone you know.”
The emergence of Anderson and Barclay (St Peters Western, QLD; Coaches: Cam Gledhill and Dean Boxall) continues the backstroking production line in Australia that has seen McKeown, four-time Olympian Emily Seebohm and former world championship silver medallist Minna Atherton fly the Aussie flag over the past decade.
Iona Anderson; Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Throw in the Mollie O’Callaghan (she of the 100 and 200m freestyle fame) curve ball and the Australian Olympic Trials in Brisbane in June just got a whole lot hotter.
Seebohm, back swimming after giving birth to son Sampson last September, is the X factor for the up-coming Trials, with an extraordinary World Championship record of one gold, two silver and a bronze from four world championship campaigns in 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Although things could have taken a different turn had Anderson not swapped her leotard for her Speedos in 2018 – making the move from a promising gymnastics career to swim full-time.
She first got involved with swimming at a young age, initially through a learn to swim program before her swim coaches had noticed her potential in the pool and convinced her to swap the bounce pads for the touch pads.
“When I was younger, swimming was not my main focus, my primary sport was gymnastics up until the end of 2017,” Anderson said in an interview with WAIS.
“At the end of 2016, I outgrew the swim program and I switched to the Breakers squad program as my gymnastics hours changed, allowing me to swim twice per week.
“In 2017 my gymnastic hours changed again, resulting in me having to swim on Saturday mornings and then go to gymnastics later in the day.
“At the end of 2017, I was told by a coach at Breakers that if I wanted to give swimming a good go, I would have to make the switch to swimming sooner rather than later, otherwise I would’ve been too old – I made the decision to switch and I started with Breakers in January of 2018.
“At the beginning of my swimming career, I began to make improvements. The strength that I had originally built up for gymnastics came into good use, but I had to work on my technique as I had a very basic, unrefined stroke.
“At my first session in a competitive swimming squad, I was asked to pick a stroke other than freestyle to be my form stroke.
“I weighed up my options and chose backstroke, as butterfly was too hard and I didn’t like breaststroke with much passion!
“I also get the benefit of breathing whenever I want throughout backstroke, unless I’m doing endless kicks underwater!”
And that decision paid off last night in Doha with the 2023 World Junior Champion in the 50m backstroke and now world championship silver medallist in the 100m, vaulting her way onto the international swimming stage with a silver lining.
