2018 Aussie Age C’ships: Titmus, Winnington, Taylor & ‘Tomahawk’

2018 GEORGINA HOPE FOUNDATION AUSTRALIAN AGE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Saturday, April 21st – Saturday, April 28th
• Sydney Olympic Park & Aquatic Centre
• Prelims at 9am local/Finals at 6pm local
• Selection event for Junior Pan Pacific Championships & Oceania Championships
• LCM
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

Right on the heels of the 2018 Commonwealth Games are the Australian Age Swimming Championships, an 8-day affair filled with budding talent from across Australia. Swimmers are broken into age groups of 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17/18 (as of April 21, 2018), all vying for spots on their nation’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships and Oceana Championships rosters. Although it’s an age group meet, key players from the ‘senior’ circuit will be making appearances, including Commonwealth Games medalists Ariarne Titmus, Elijah Winnington and Laura Taylor.

At this same meet last year, then 16-year-old Titmus crushed wining times of 1:57.90 in the 200m free, 4:07.09 in the 400m free, as well as 8:33.49 in the 800m free to capture 3 national titles. She then went on to finish 4th at the senior World Championships in the 400m free and claim a bronze as a member of the Aussie women’s 4x200m freestyle relay. Titmus most recently became a 4-time Commonwealth Games medalist, striking gold in the 400m, 800m, and 4x200m freestyle relay events, as well as taking silver in the 200m free.

At the Sydney Olympic Park & Aquatic Centre, Titmus will be contesting the 100m, free, 200m free, 400m free and 800m free as a 17-year-old, although the pressure of making the senior Pan Pacific Championships squad in her pet events is off her shoulders.

Taylor surprised the Gold Coast with a silver medal outcome in the women’s 200m fly behind Wales’ Alys Thomas at the Commonwealth Games this year. Making a name for herself at this year’s Australian National Championships with a monster personal best of 2:06.80 to take the 200m fly title, Taylor raced to 2nd place on the Gold Coast, beating out Olympian Emma McKeon in the process.

Here the 17/18 age grouper will be racing her specialty 200m fly  and 100m fly events, where she is positioned as the top seed, but the TSS Aquatics athlete will also be racing the 50m/100m/200m/400m freestyles.

For the men, Winnington is ready to replicate his incredible 8 gold medal haul from these Age Championships last year as a 16-year-old. The Bond University athlete, who trains alongside Olympic medalist Cameron McEvoy, busted out wins in the 50m, free, 100m free, 200m free, 400m free, 100m fly, 200m fly, 200m IM and 400m IM, proving he is a versatile asset for the green and gold. And, Winnington recently delivered on his potential, becoming an important member of the men’s 4x200m freestyle gold medal-winning relay on the Gold Coast.

In Sydney this weekend, competing in the 17/18 age group, Winnington will try to lay claim to titles across the same event line-up as last year, save the 400m IM.

Another promising young talent is emerging from All Saints in the form of Tom Hauck. Nicknamed ‘Tomahawk’, the now-15-year-old proved dangerous at this meet last year, taking 7 golds and 2 silvers across freestyle, backstroke, fly and IM events. The teen weapon is ready to rumble across the same 9 events this time around to further solidify his status as an emerging player waiting to make an elite international roster for the Australians.