2020 Victorian Sprint Championships

The racing was fast and furious and the stands were packed with spectators for this exciting event.

Most of our swimmers achieved PBs, and it was exciting to see first time state qualifiers, as well as older swimmers returning to competition swimming.

The following WMP swimmers qualified for the meet: Amy Avram, Owen Cheung, Abdullah Djebarra, Ahmed Elgammal, Youssef Elgammal, Josh Furnival, Zhiannon Hume, Chloe King, Ray Oo, Rosemary Pauesi, Laura Stevenson and Orlando West.

The following swimmers made finals: Brianna Donato (50BR 4th, 50FR 7th, 50FL 7th); Liam Laidlaw (50FL 9th, 50BK 6th, 50BR 6th); Will Middleton (50BR 9th); Thomas Pearson (50FL 6th); Adam Selwood (50BK 5th); Anna Yestekhin (50FL 9th).

The following were our medallists:

Johann Stickland - 50BK Gold, 50FL Gold, 50FR Gold, 50BR Bronze

Luka Zubcic - 50FL Gold, 50FR Gold

Lushavel Stickland - 50BK Gold, 50FR Silver

Thomas Pearson - 50BR Gold, 50BK Bronze

Liam Laidlaw - 50FR Silver

Adam Selwood - 50BR Silver

Will Middleton - 50FL Bronze

The event was particularly notable as we had multiple medallists in several events: Men's 19/over Fly, Free and Breast each produced 2 club medallists, showing the depth of talent the club is developing.

Special congratulations to 11 year old Anna Yestekhin. This was Anna's first State Championship. She qualified in all 4 strokes, achieved significant PBs in all 4 strokes, and finalled in the 50 Fly, where she placed 9th in the final. Anna went into the event ranked 36th in the Fly and pulled a 2 second PB in the heats to make the final. A remarkable achievement.

It was also amazing to see our own Ella Keogh, a past club president and club national swimmer, and now a Swimming Victoria Director, handing out medals. She presented several of our swimmers with theirs, which was a great experience for them, and a credit to her many achievements.