James McHenry (left) and Sam Nixon (right) were two of the Haileybury Waterlions’ stars at the Victorian Long Course Swimming Championships at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre over the past week.By Marc McGowan
THE Haileybury Waterlions completed another immensely successful meet at the Victorian Long Course Swimming Championships at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on Tuesday.
The club had three individual gold medal-winners in the last week after the competition began on 4 January.
Briony Johnson, 12, won the 12-year-olds 100-metre freestyle, Laura Harney, 17, took out the 16-to-18-year-olds 800m freestyle, and Roy Pearce, 17, was too good in the 17-to-18-year-olds 400m freestyle.
The latter two results continue the strong tradition at the club for producing quality swimmers over the freestyle distance events.
The Waterlions’ haul over the final week of the competition was an impressive three gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals to confirm their status as one of the premier clubs in the state.
The tally was spread over the 51-strong squad that qualified for the championships, but there were also several outstanding individual displays.
Distance specialist Harney (one gold, two silver and one bronze), 16-year-old all-rounder Ally Woodlock (one silver, three bronze), 15-year-old breaststroker James McHenry (one silver and one bronze), 16-year-old speed demon Sam Nixon (one silver and two bronze), 16-year-old David Mummery (two silver), and Pearce (one gold and one silver) headed Haileybury’s feats.
As well as their individual success, several of those swimmers played a part in the Waterlions’ relay success, which netted the club three bronze medals and a top-five finish.
Haileybury still has plenty to aim towards over the next few months, with the Australian Swimming Championships – which double as the selection trials for the Beijing Olympic Games – in Sydney in March.
Club star Kelly Stubbins will be gunning for a place on the squad after winning gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne as part of the Australian 4 x 200m relay team.
The younger swimmers’ focus now turns to April’s Australian Age Championships in Brisbane, where they will look to make an impact on the national scene.
