17-Yr-Old Aussie Joshua Conias Hits All Comers Record In SCM 50 Free

2024 QUEENSLAND SC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, August 8th – Sunday, August 11th
• Brisbane Aquatic Centre
• SCM (25m)
• Day 1 Recap
• Entries/Results

On the heels of swimming at the 2024 Olympic Games, the 2024 Queensland Short Course Championships kicked off at Brisbane Aquatic Centre yesterday.

Day Two Highlights

The 2nd day of short course competition unfolded, with All Saints swimmer Enoch Robb making some noise in the men’s open 200m back event.

19-year-old Robb produced a winning time of 1:51.98, getting to the wall exactly a second ahead of Griffith’s Joshua Edwards-Smith.

Edwards-Smith’s outing of 1:52.98 was followed by St. Peters Western’s Matt Magnussen who touched well behind in 1:58.63 for the bronze.

Robb’s result checks in as a huge new lifetime best, outperforming the 1:53.99 logged at the 2023 edition of these Championships.

Robb now represents the 10th-fastest Australian men’s SCM 200 backstroker in history and ranks just outside the top 15 performers worldwide on the season.

Racing in the boys’ 17-year-old 50m freestyle, Somerville House Aquatics’ Joshua Conias fired off a new Queensland All Comers Record en route to taking the title.

Conias stopped the clock at 22.38 to get the job done, holding off a charging Thomas Booth in the process.

Booth of Southside settled for silver in 22.41 and Bond’s Kalani Creech rounded out the podium in 23.00.

As a reminder, Conias’ club team is where newly-minted 50m free Olympic champion Cameron McEvoy also trains. McEvoy, now 30, still holds the Australian Age Record for 17-year-olds in the 50m free (31.83, 2011). Conias now inserts himself into slot #9 on the list of all-time Aussie 17-year-olds.

USC Spartans’ Thomas Nowakowski put up a career-best of 21.44 as he topped the open men’s 50m free category.

Nowakowski’s winning effort of 21.44 destroyed his previous PB of 22.20 from 3 years ago and represented just one of two sub-22-second efforts.

Grayson Bell hit 21.68 for silver while his Somerville House Aquatics’ teammate Jack Taylor secured 3rd place in 22.01.

Additional Notes

• Bond’s Joshua Collett came out on top of the men’s 100m IM field, logging 53.74 for the victory. The 20-year-old also beat out the 100m breast pack, registering 58.58 to win by just under a second.
• Emma Doherty got it done for gold in the open women’s 100m IM, turning in a time of 1:01.45 to get the touch over Rackley’s Lily Price (1:01.88).
• The women’s open 50m free saw Griffith’s Mia O’Leary secure gold in 25.11 and Price snagged her 2nd silver in 25.20.
• Price did grab a gold, finishing in 26.23 as the women’s 50m fly champion.
• Olympian David Morgan, 30, touched in 23.40 to get the men’s open 50m fly win.