Incerti, Pollard Impress On Opening Day of Western Australia Championships

2020 WESTERN AUSTRALIA SWIMMING C’SHIPS

• Friday, December 18th – Tuesday, December 22nd
• HBF Stadium, Perth, Western Australia
• LCM (50m)
• Entries
• Results on Meet Mobile

The opening day of the 2020 Western Australia Swimming Championships featured several familiar names in action, including 2016 Olympians Tamsin Cook and Blair Evans, and other WA mainstays including Zac Incerti and Holly Barratt.

Highlighting day one action was Incerti, who picked up a big win in the men’s 200 freestyle in a time of 1:48.36. That swim establishes a new personal best for the 24-year-old, who had previously been 1:48.68 in March, and also lowers the WA Residential Record previously held by Tommaso D’Orsogna.

20-year-olds Adam Sudlow (1:50.58) and Ashton Brinkworth (1:51.85) took second and third behind Incerti in the 20 & over category, while Hugh Moran (1:52.03) topped the 18-19 field and Joshua Edwards-Smith (1:54.40) was the fastest among the 17-year-olds.

In the women’s 200 free, it was 2016 Olympic silver medalist Tamsin Cook putting up the top time from the prelims in 2:03.77. Cook, who took a hiatus from the sport in 2018, holds a best of 1:58.16 in the event from five years ago.

The 21-year-old opted not to swim the final, where 17-year-old Samantha Macfarlane of Breakers WA put up the top time in 2:03.92.

Another WA Residential Record fell at the hands of Kieren Pollard, who rolled to the fastest time in the men’s 400 IM in 4:20.17. That marked a new personal best time for the 21-year-old, and also makes him the fastest Aussie this season, overtaking Elliot Rogerson‘s 4:20.49.

The previous WA Residential Record was set way back in 2004, when Athens Olympian Adam Lucas set the record.

OTHER EVENTS

• 32-year-old Holly Barratt led the way in the women’s 100 backstroke finals in a time of 1:02.89 following a 1:02.28 morning swim. Barratt holds a PB of 59.66 from 2017.
• Blair Evans put up a solid 4:47.74 to top the women’s 400 IM, with Lily Beste winning the 17-18 age group in 4:58.62.
• The top swim in the men’s 100 back came from Edwards-Smith in the 17-year-old category as the UWSC swimmer put up a time of 56.95.