Standouts make finals in Aussie debuts - April 2015

Wanganui's standout teenage swimmers Elena Forlong (above - Wanganui High School student) and Shannon Schimanski competed strongly in their debut for their country at the Australian Age Group Championships last week.

As the first national representatives from their Wanganui club, Schimanski, 14, and Forlong, 16, had qualified for the 12-strong team in the breaststroke and butterfly respectively, racing in the 100m and 200m events.

Both made a final, with Forlong finishing eighth in the 200m butterfly, while Schimanski was ninth in the 100m breaststroke in 1m 17.14s.

To put this in perspective, Schimanski's time would have been good enough to finish second at the New Zealand Open Championships, which were being held at the same time in Auckland, while Forlong's effort would have won her gold back home.

She retained her ranking of 17th in the 200m breaststroke, while Forlong moved up eleven places to reach 25th for the 100m butterfly.

Another Wanganui Swimming Club member to see success was 9-year-old prospect Cayden Earles, competing at an NZ Division III meet in Wellington.

Earles won gold in the 50m breaststroke and backstroke events, plus silver in the 100m of both those disciplines and a bronze in the 100m freestyle.

She made six personal best times and is believed to have broken three Wanganui records.

(20/4/15)