Jeffcoat & Crawford Rack Up NZL National Records In Auckland

2020 North Shore SC Invitational

• October 5th – October 10th
• Sir Owen Glenn National Aquatic Centre, Auckland, NZ
• SCM (25m)
• Results: Meet Mobile

We reported how swimmers based in Auckland, New Zealand are not able to travel to the New Zealand Short Course Championships currently taking place in Hamilton due to coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions. Aucklanders are most likely able to join the fun on day 3, but in the meantime are running a concurrent meet entitled the North Shore Short Course Invitational.

And, this secondary competition is by no means a lesser meet. We’ve already seen two national records bite the dust through just two days’ worth of competition.

First, in the men’s 100m backstroke 21-year-old Pukekohe swimmer Andrew Jeffcoat put down a new lifetime best of 51.02 to top the podium. Splitting 24.77/26.25, Jeffcoat’s performance here in Auckland surpassed the previous NR by .35, overtaking Daniel Bell’s previous Kiwi mark of 51.37 from over a decade ago.

Next on the hit list was the women’s 100m breaststroke, with both Melissa Cowen and Brearna Crawford on its trail. Cowen roared her way to the top seed out of the morning heats, hitting a personal best of 1:06.72. That head-turning outing dipped under the previous national record of 1:07.14 that the aforementioned Crawford put on the books in July of 2019.

However, Crawford exacted revenge come the final, with the 17-year-old Waitakere Swimming Club athlete crushing a mark of 1:06.60 to take back her status as the record holder. Splitting 31.57/35.03, Crawford’s time of 1:06.60 beat out Cowen, who added just .10 to still get under the old record and snag silver in the final with a time of 1:06.82.