Four Wellington-based swimmers made their way to the Gold Coast for the 2024 Oceania Championships held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre from the 21st to the 24th of April.
On the first day, Joel Crampton (Capital Swim Club) raced his way to his first international medal. He claimed silver in the Men’s 200m Butterfly, finishing the race in 2:03.34. Neve Tassicker (Ngā Tai Tūātea a Taraika) followed suit in the Women’s 200m Butterfly winning silver in a time of 2:16.18. The night concluded with the Mixed 4x50m Freestyle Relay where Phoebe Nelson (Ōtaki Titans Swimming Club) put together a strong performance to bring home another silver for New Zealand in a time of 1:38.52.
Days two and three were filled with plenty of success for our Wellington swimmers. Neve Tassicker added another silver to her collection in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley and Phoebe Nelson anchored the Mixed 4x50m Medley Relay for silver. Also in this event was Ōtaki Titans Swimming Club’s Kokoro Frost, swimming the first leg of Samoa’s bronze medal-winning relay team. Frost also found success in the Men’s 50m Backstroke and Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay, picking up bronze and silver, respectively. Joel Crampton found himself on the podium again, picking up bronze in the Men’s 100m Butterfly. Crampton said, “I learnt a lot about my swimming from this competition. Both New Zealand coaches gave valuable insight into improvements I could make to my stroke and race strategies which I will build on with my club coaches here (in Wellington).”
The final day saw Phoebe Nelson win her first individual medal with a bronze in the Women’s 50m Freestyle and Kokoro Frost won silver in the Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay. Neve Tassicker finished her campaign strongly, claiming an Oceania title in the Women’s 800m Freestyle. Speaking on her overall experience of the event, Tassicker said, “The most valuable aspect from competing at international level, for me, is the knowledge that I’m representing my country. Racing with the fern on my cap is always very special and it brings a fresh kind of competitiveness to the racing that I really enjoy.”
In conclusion, the 2024 Oceania Swimming Championships served a significant purpose for swimmers across the Oceania region. It provided a platform for athletes to gain valuable competition experience in a high-performance environment and we hope to see our regional swimmers take on further international experiences soon.
