Wellington swimmers dove headfirst into success at the recent 2024 Apollo Projects New Zealand Swimming Championships held in Hawke's Bay. Our region's top athletes brought their competitive spirit and top-notch skills, making a strong showing throughout the week-long event (April 9th - 13th).
Day one saw Maia Adams (Raumati Swimming Club) bring home a bronze in the 400m Individual Medley in a time of 5:03.17. Strong performances from Curtis Mellsop (Ngā Tai Tūātea a Taraika) in the 400m Individual Medley and Neve Tassicker (Ngā Tai Tūātea a Taraika) in the 1500m Freestyle saw their efforts reciprocated with fourth placings in their respective events.
Day two’s finals began with Daniel Williams (SwimZone Racing) finishing in seventh place in the 100m Backstroke. Another seventh placing was won later that evening by Joshua Amyes (Capital Swim Club) in the 200m Freestyle. Brooke Miles (Ngā Tai Tūātea a Taraika) valiantly swam to a sixth-place finish in the 200m Freestyle B Final for fourteenth overall. The night was rounded off with Ngā Tai Tūātea a Taraika in the 4x100m Mixed Medley Relay. The team, consisting of Alex Esposito, Tassicker, Mellsop and Miles, swam bravely for sixth.
Curtis Mellsop’s seventh place finish in the 400m Freestyle final began day three’s finals on a high. Neve Tassicker then went on to seventh in her 400m Freestyle final. In the Men’s 100m Butterfly B Final, Capital’s Amyes and Joel Crampton finished second and third in their B Final, respectively. Maia Adams returned to take out fifth in the 200m Breaststroke and Alex Esposito capped the night off with his seventh-place finish in the 50m Backstroke.
Esposito was first in action on day four’s finals in the 200m Backstroke final where he finished in seventh place. His teammate, Curtis Mellsop then came nail-bitingly close to a bronze medal in the 200m Butterfly, finishing fourth. A silver medal was won, however, by Joel Crampton in a time of 2:05.06. In the Women’s 200m Butterfly, Maia Adams finished sixth and Neve Tassicker brilliantly defended her national title in a time of 2:18.68!
The final day of competition began with a real high. Noah Ireland-Spicer (Ōtaki Titans Swimming Club) broke the regional 16 Year Olds 50m Freestyle record. The previous record, held by Finn Harland, stood at 23.96. Noah blitzed this time with a new record of 23.78. Maia Adams rounded off her meet with a seventh in the 200m Individual Medley. Phoebe Nelson (Ōtaki Titans Swimming Club) speedily made her way down the pool in the 50m Freestyle B Final where she won her final and finished ninth in the country!
Beyond placings, there were numerous personal bests achieved, with swimmers exceeding their own expectations and pushing their limits. This kind of growth is a true testament to the strength of our training programs and the unwavering commitment of our athletes. Well done to all of the swimmers that competed and represented their clubs and our region with pride! This kind of growth is a true testament to the strength of our training programs and the unwavering commitment of our athletes.
