Swimming New Zealand has revealed a 12 swimmer lineup for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
22-year-old Olympic finalist Lewis Clareburt headlines the roster, with Dame Sophie Pascoe and young gun Erika Fairweather also comprising the lineup.
Of the 12 named athletes, 7 will be making their Commonwealth Games debut, giving Swimming New Zealand a rookie vibe as they try to improve upon their 5th place showing in the overall swimming medal table 4 years ago.
There on the Gold Coast, the Kiwis amassed 3 total medals, which included Clareburt snagging 400m IM bronze after having been added to the roster at the last minute. Pascoe grabbed 100 m breaststroke SB9 and 200 m individual medley SM10 gold as well.
New Zealand’s Roster for 2022 Commonwealth Games:
- Lewis Clareburt – Men’s 400 Individual Medley, Men’s 200 Individual Medley. Permission to Start in the Men’s 200 Freestyle
- Erika Fairweather – Women’s 400 Freestyle. Permission to Start in the Women’s 200 Freestyle and Women’s 100 Freestyle
- Helena Gasson – Women’s 200 Individual Medley. Permission to start in the Women’s 200 Fly, Women’s 100 Fly, Women’s 50 Fly and Women’s 50 Backstroke
- Cameron Gray – Men’s 50 Fly. Permission to start in the Men’s 200 Freestyle, Men’s 100 Freestyle, Men’s 50 Freestyle and Men’s 50 Backstroke
- Andrew Jeffcoat – Men’s 100 Backstroke, Men’s 50 Backstroke. Permission to start in the Men’s 200 Backstroke
- Tupou Neiufi – 100 Backstroke S9 (S8), permission to start in 100 Freestyle S9 (S8)*
- Hazel Ouwehand – Women’s 50 Fly. Permission to start in the Women’s 100 Backstroke, Women’s 50 Backstroke and Women’s 100 Fly
- Dame Sophie Pascoe – Women’s 100 Freestyle S9*
- Eve Thomas – Women’s 800 Freestyle. Permission to start in the Women’s 400 Freestyle and Women’s 200 Freestyle
- Mya Rasmussen – Women’s 400 Individual Medley. Permission to start in the Women’s 200 Individual Medley and the Women’s 200 Breaststroke
- Jesse Reynolds – Men’s 100 Backstroke S9, permission to start in 100 Fly S10 (S9) and 100 Breaststroke SB8*
- Joshua Willmer – Men’s 100 Breaststroke SB8, permission to start in 100 Backstroke S9 and 100 Fly S9
On his selection, Clareburt said, “I’m excited to get back overseas and racing at this year’s Commonwealth Games. After my Olympic experience in Tokyo I feel like I’ve learnt a lot about my own swimming and how I can perform on the biggest stage.
“This summer we’ve spent more time in the gym working on my strength as well as a lot of effort in the pool focused on bringing my breaststroke leg up a bit. We’re happy with how everything is tracking and now I’m just focused on getting to Birmingham in the best shape possible.”
Clareburt was the 2019 World Championships bronze medalist in the 400 IM. After a couple of years of injuries, he finished 7th in the 400 IM and 8th in the 200 IM at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
