Fairweather Nears Lifetime Best For Tokyo-Worthy 400 Free

2020 AUCKLAND C’SHIPS (NZL)

16-year-old World Junior Champion Erika Fairweather has already made her mark at these Auckland Championships, scoring a new lifetime best in the women’s 200m free last night. Hitting a time of 1:57.38 to reap gold, Fairweather lowered her own NZL Age Record but missed Olympic qualification by a mere .10.

The Neptune Swimming Club teen made sure the opportunity wouldn’t be missed again, as she punched a Tokyo 2020 qualification time to take 400m free gold tonight.

Fairweather produced a monster 4:07.43 to top the podium here in Auckland, dipping under the FINA ‘A’ qualification time of 4:07.90 needed for next year’s Olympic Games in the process.

Although she’s been slightly faster in her career, owning a PB of 4:07.23 from this year’s Vic Open in February, that meet was not a FINA-sanctioned Olympic qualifying competition. However, that time does stand as New Zealand’s national age record for 16-year-olds in the event.

Splits for Fairweather’s near-personal best performance tonight included 59.19/1:02.85/1:03.46/1:01.93, with the Kiwi winning by nearly 18 seconds.

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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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