2024 SWIMMING WA SHORT COURSE QUALIFYING MEET 2
- Saturday, July 20th – Sunday, July 21st
- HBF Stadium
- SCM (25m)
- Results – Meet Mobile: 2024 Swimming WA Short Course Qual 2
While all eyes are counting down the clock until the beginning of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, several of Australia’s budding swimming stars are taking part in a domestic meet in West Australia.
The WA Short Course Qualifying Meet got underway today from HBF Stadium, with a portion of Australia’s roster for this year’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships tuning up ahead of next month’s competition in Canberra.
Breakers 16-year-old Lucas Fackerell put up one of the day’s top performances, decisively reaping gold in the men’s 14&O 400m free event.
Fackerell stopped the clock at a rapid 3:49.50 to clear the field by over 10 seconds.
17-year-old Braden Fyneman of UWA West Coast, also a Junior Pan Pacs qualifier, snagged silver in 4:01.08 while 16-year-old Sam Carmignani rounded out the podium in 4:01.82.
For Fackerell, who is coached by Harry Clarke, the teen’s time represents a big-time personal best, slashing nearly 11 seconds off his previous career-best of 3:59.93 established at last year’s SC State Championships.
Fackerell’s swim now checks the teen in as the 9th-swiftest Aussie 16-year-old in history in this SCM 400 free event.
Another Junior Pan Pacs qualifier Sylvia Czajko made her presence known, taking the women’s 13&O 50m free race.
16-year-old Czajko of UWA West Coast fired off a winning effort of 26.00 to get to the wall first, narrowly defeating runner-up Samantha Lourey who touched a hair behind in 26.04. Dayesha Ferris grabbed bronze in 26.15.
Czajko’s time was about half a second off her career-quickest mark of 25.52, a time she clocked at last year’s state SC championships.
Although not competing in Canberra next month, 16-year-old Lucy Porter made her presence known across 3 events on the first day of competition here.
The teen reaped gold across the 100m IM, 100m breast and 100m fly, handily defeating the field in all.
In the 100m IM, Porter crushed a time of 1:03.02 to get to the wall nearly 5 seconds ahead of the pack. That hacked a significant amount of time off the teen’s previous PB of 1:04.69, a result she posted last September in New Zealand.
Porter then tried the 100m breast on for size, earning the top prize in a result of 1:10.87, a PB by .04.
Finally, Porter nailed the victory in the 100m fly, producing a winning result of 1:02.59 for a new career-best.
Additional Notes
- 19-year-old Liam Foley logged a time of 50.87 to take the men’s 100m free over 17-year-olds Xavier Collins and Sean Alcorn. The pair are on the Junior Pan Pacs team and clocked respective times of 51.08 and 51.54 to land on the podium behind Foley. Foley also won the 50m fly in 25.06 while Alcorn snagged silver in 25.52 and Samuel Hicks earned bronze in 26.12.
- Tadhg Smith of Breakers hit a time of 57.80 as the fastest 100m backstroker of the day at just 15 years of age. He owns a lifetime best of 55.38 from just last month.
- The women’s 50m back saw 16-year-old Emma Stewart get it done for gold in 29.48 as the sole swimmer under the 30-second barrier.
