Tasmania produces super results at Australian age championships

Among the stars were Hugh Dolle and Noah Kamprad, who both set world junior qualifying times.

Former South Esk swimmer Dolle, now based in Brisbane, won a silver and three bronze medals in his final age nationals appearance and set personal best times in all events.

The silver was in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay while the trio of bronze medals came in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle events. The 100m freestyle, in 50.73 seconds, was the junior world qualifying time.

He also made the B finals in the 50m and 100m butterfly in his age group.

Dolle, 17, a former Launceston Grammar student, now trains with powerhouse club St Peter's Western.

Dolle said afterwards he was happy with both his own performance and that of his club, which was the most successful overall at age nationals.

"I was really pleased with my results across the meet," he said.

"The freestyle events were my main focus.

"To get bronze in all three events was an amazing feeling, knowing that all the hard work that I had put in over the previous year has shown results in a big way.

"Racing against some of Australia's best has shown me that I am not the only one looking to make the next step in my swimming career and that has just made me more determined to continue to improve. It is fantastic to be a part of St Peter's Western achieving their seventh win at this meet."

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Fellow 17-year-old, Hobart Aquatic's Noah Kamprad, had what Swimming Tasmania termed 'an outstanding meet'.

He came away with four silver medals, four world junior qualifying times and a host of new state records.

The medals were in the 400, 800 and 1500m freestyle and 200m butterfly. He just missed out on a medal in the 400m medley.

Swimming Tasmania has praised the team of 31, who competed in 114 events and 21 finals, breaking 16 state records along the way.

Other highlights of the meet included South Esk's Abbie King who smashed a 22-year-old Tasmanian swimming record three times in one day in the 50m freestyle for 13-year-old girls. The records tumbled first in the individual heats, then in the final and later in the relay, with the new benchmark now set at 27.43 seconds.

The sensational Launceston Aquatic relay team of Abigail Evans, Jessica Homan, Isabella Muldoon and Taylor Brock set new Tasmanian relay records in the 4x100m freestyle (4:03.06) and medley relays (4:33.09) for girls 16 and under.

And Brock and Muldoon teamed up with King and Hobart Aquatic's Lacy Kamprad for another new state record effort in the girls' 14 and under 4x50m freestyle in a time of 1:50.37.

Other swimmers to break Tasmanian records at nationals included: Daniel Shilcock (HC Swim Club) who set new times in 50m and 100m backstroke (27.42 and 1:00.28 respectively) for 15-year-old boys; and Ella Chan (Hobart Aquatic) who rewrote the record books for 15 years and open 50m butterfly twice in a day (27.87).

The Australian Swimming Championships are also at the South Australian Leisure and Aquatic Centre and take place from May 18 to 22. This is the selection meet for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the FINA World Championships and the World University Games.

DIARY DATES

May 7: Time trial, Hobart.

May 14: Time trial, Launceston.

May 21: Time trial, Hobart.

May 28: Time trial, Launceston.

June 4: Time trial, Hobart.

June 25: Regional short course championships, Hobart.

June 26: Regional short course championships, Launceston.

July 23: South Esk sprint meet, Launceston.

July 30: Time trial, Launceston.

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