NZL’s Caitlin Deans Rips 1500 Free Personal Best To Qualify For Budapest

2022 NEW ZEALAND SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Making a statement on the final night of competition at these 2022 New Zealand Championships, 22-year-old Caitlin Deans put up the swim of her life in the women’s 1500m free.

Stopping the clock in a mark of 16:27.34, the Neptune swimmer not only beat the field by nearly 30 seconds, but she also nabbed a time worthy enough to be considered for the 2022 FINA World Aquatic Championships in Budapest.

Entering these Championships, Deans best-ever 1500m freestyle time rested at the 16:35.73 she notched in December of 2020. Getting under the 16:30 barrier for the first time in her career, however, Deans now jumps up the list of all-time Kiwi performers to rank #6 overall.

Both Lewis Clareburt and Helena Gasson remarkably nabbed their 6th national title each while wrapping up tonight’s events.

Clareburt topped the men’s 200m fly, scoring a time of 1:57.42. Splitting 56.58/1:00.84, Clareburt nearly put up a new lifetime best. His result here fell just .18 shy of his 1:57.42 from last year. Unfortunately, however, Clareburt needed a 1:56.71 to automatically qualify in this event for Budapest.

Gasson reaped 2 golds to close out the competition, first taking the women’s 200m fly in 2:12.03 and then 31.91 to beat the women’s 50m breaststroke field.

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About Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC.

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