Forty-six members of the Australian Dolphins Swim Team, a plethora of international para stars and some of Victoria’s best emerging talent made for a memorable weekend of swimming at the Victorian Open Championships, incorporating Round 1 of the World Para Swimming World Series.
It was one of the strongest fields seen at these Championships and with swimmers setting their sights firmly on Tokyo, the competition was fast and fierce. Records tumbled, PBs were smashed and nail-biting finishes were witnessed over the 3-day event.
Our club had a large contingent of 13 swimmers qualifying for individual events.
Our qualifiers were: Robbe Dilissen, Youssef Elgammal, Rosemary Pauesi, Ben Silke and Johann Stickland.
Rounding out our Men's 200FR relay was Jesse Coulson.
The following swimmers made B finals (placed 11-20 in heats):
Brianna Donato (400FR, 200FR); Liam Laidlaw (200IM, 50FR); Will Middleton (200FL); Ray Oo (100FR); Thomas Pearson (100FL, 200BR); Adam Selwood (200IM); Lushavel Stickland (100FR).
The following swimmers made A finals (placed top 10 in heats):
Brianna Donato (1500FR 5th); Ray Oo (50FR 6th); Thomas Pearson (50BR 6th, 100BR 8th); Adam Selwood (50BR 10th, 100BR 4th, 200BR 4th); Lushavel Stickland (100BK 9th, 50FR 10th, 50BK 4th); Luka Zubcic (100FR 7th).
We had one medallist in individual events - Luka Zubcic claimed Bronze in the 50FR.
In addition, given the depth of our team, we were fortunate enough to be able to enter multiple relay teams, and with great success. The following teams placed in the top 10:
Men's 4x200FR - Liam Laidlaw, Jesse Coulson, Robbe Dilissen, Luka Zubcic - 5th (this team dropped almost 5 seconds on their entry time and improved their ranking by 5 places).
Men's 4x100Medley - A Team - Liam Laidlaw, Adam Selwood, Luka Zubcic, Ray Oo - 4th
B Team - Johann Stickland, Thomas Pearson, Ben Silke, Robbe Dilissen - 10th
Mixed 4x50Medley - Lushavel Stickland, Brianna Donato, Luka Zubcic, Ray Oo - 6th
The following relay teams medalled:
Mixed 4x50FR - Ray Oo, Brianna Donato, Lushavel Stickland, Luka Zubcic - Bronze
Men's 4x100FR - A Team - Liam Laidlaw, Johann Stickland, Ray Oo, Luka Zubcic - Bronze.
Our Club's overall team point score rankings were as follows:
Men's team - 5th
Women's team - 13th
Combined team scores - 7th
The Men's team score is particularly noteworthy as they placed above the usual powerhouse of MLC by a significant margin.
Two other highlights:
Seeing our banner with our new club name and logo displayed on the MSAC gantry - what a proud moment!
Seeing our swimmers in a huddle on pool deck. All our swimmers who attended the last night's finals were called into a group huddle in a heart-warming display of team spirit and inclusion.
Finally, a big thank you to all our time keepers. As the club was called on to provide time keepers for most sessions, it was all hands on deck. It was great seeing all parents and friends supporting our swimmers - it all went off without a hitch, and the club is very grateful.
Well done all!
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