F-Teamers Shine at Victorian LC Champs
It was a big weekend for Victorian Swimming with the return to an unaltered program of heats and finals at the Victorian Open Long Course Championships. Held at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre from February 18-22, F-Teamers from Victoria and interstate came together for a chance to compete in their new APEX Predator X race suits after a limited 2021 season.
Olympian Brendon Smith didn’t let his recent relocation to Queensland stop him from racing at his home state’s championships. Flying in from the Gold Coast with sister and fellow F-Teamer Mikayla, Brendon joined his former teammates at Nunawading, helping them finish as the number 1 club at the championships. In the first night of finals action Brendon finished first in the 400m Freestyle in front of teammate and VIS athlete Elliot Rogerson.
South Australian F-Teamer Tom Lightfoot’s last-minute decision to add the meet to his competition scheduled paid off with a second-place finish in the 400m IM. Other interstate swimmers who were keen to kick off the year with competitive interstate racing included the Tassie duo of Max Giuliani and Noah Kamprad from the Hobart Aquatic Club. 18-year-old Max finished second with a time of 50.59 in the 100m Freestyle behind Olympian Alexander Graham and in third place in the 200m Freestyle with a time of 1:51.20. Teammate Noah Kamprad also had a great weekend of swimming, winning silver in the men’s 200m Butterfly in a time of 2:04.22 and taking out bronze in the men’s open 1500m Freestyle in a new Tasmanian state record for boys 17 years (15:45.59). He also smashed the finals on night two with a World Junior Qualifying Time and Tasmanian Open and 17 years record in the 800m Freestyle with a time of 8:10.05.
Breaststrokers Cameron Jordan and Calvin Reed went head-to-head in the 50m and 100m Breaststroke events with Bendigo East’s Jordan placing 3rd in the 50m event with a time of 28.63.
The competition also incorporated the 2022 Para Swimming World Series with Queensland Paralympians Blake Cochrane and Jacob Templeton making their way to Melbourne for a big weekend of racing. The results at each World Series event will be calculated using a standardised World Para Swimming points system.
It was a great start to what will be a very busy year with Commonwealth Games Trials coming up and World Champs back on the calendar.