Two More Qualify for World Championships on Day 2 of New Zealand Open

New Zealand will send two more swimmers to the World Championships in Kazan, Russia after Nathan Capp and 15-year-old Bobbi Gichard qualified in the men’s 400 IM and women’s 100 backstroke, respectively.

Capp broke New Zealand record in the 400 IM with a 4:17.72, a second and a half under the FINA A standard and almost half a second faster than Dean Kent‘s record of 4:18.20, which had stood since 2006.

200 IM qualifier Bradlee Ashby finished second in 4:21.36, and Andrew Trembath took third in 4:34.08.

Capp scored a second win and a second record on the evening with a title in the 800 freestyle with  7:58.30, making him the first New Zealander under eight minutes. He broke the old record by almost five seconds.

Gichard, meanwhile, qualified in the women’s 100 backstroke with a 1:01.46, beating Caroline Baddock (1:01.70) and Gabrielle Fa’amausili (1:02.04) to the wall. Fa’amausili led for most of the race, but Gichard came back over the final 10 meters to hit the qualifying time.

Lauren Boyle added another swim to her World Championships palate with an A qualifying time in the 1500 freestyle with a 16:22.76.

Boyle, the world No. 1 in the 1500 and a Commonwealth Games champion, also won the women’s 200 freestyle in 1:59.29.

Glenn Snyders added a swim as well after qualifying in the men’s 50 breaststroke with a 27.50, the 11th fastest time in the world this year.

New Zealand qualified just five individuals for the world championships two years ago, but brought their total up to eight already with two nights of swimming to go.

Matthew Stanley almost qualified in the 200 freestyle, winning the event with a 1:48.39. However, Stanley missed the time standard by just .02 hundredths of a second.

Day 2 results:

• Men 400m individual medley: Nathan Capp (Greerton) 4:17.72, 1 (Qualified FINA World Championships & NZ Record); Bradlee Ashby (Fairfield) 4:21.36, 2; Andrew Trembath (Neptune) 4:34.08, 3.
• Women 200m butterfly: Helena Gasson (Fairfield) 2:12.98, 1; Samantha Lee (Capital) 2:13.08, 2; Yeonsu Lee (North Shore) 2:17.26, 3.
• Men 200m freestyle: Matthew Stanley (Matamata) 1:48.39, 1; Ewan Jackson (Howick Pakuranga) 1:49.65, 2; Corey Main (Howick Pakuranga) 1:50.14, 3.
• Women 100m backstroke: Bobbi Gichard (Greendale) 1:01.46, 1 (Qualified FINA World Championships); Caroline Baddock (North Shore) 1:01.70, 2; Gabrielle Fa’amausili (Roskill) 1:02.04, 3.
• Men 200m butterfly: Shaun Burnett (North Shore) 1:59.46, 1; Bradlee Ashby (Fairfield) 2:00.20, 2; Isaac Foote (Masterton) 2:00.65, 3.
• Women 200m freestyle: Lauren Boyle (United) 1:59.29, 1; Georgia Marris (United) 2:00.80, 2; Emma Robinson (Capital) 2:00.98, 3.
• Men 50m breaststroke: Glenn Snyders (North Shore) 27.50, 1; Jeffrey Arona-Tuifana’e (Howick Pakuranga) 28.81, 2; Alex Peach (United) 29.05, 3.
• Women 1500m freestyle: Lauren Boyle (United) 16:22.76, 1; Charlotte Webby (Aquabladz New Plymouth) 17.01.37, 2; Monique King (North Shore) 17:06.14, 3.
• Men 800m freestyle: Nathan Capp (Greerton) 7:58,30, 1 (NZ Record); Phillip Ryan (Waterhole) 8:27.17, 2; Liam Albery (Capital) 8:27.33, 3.

Para-Swimmers:

• Women 100m backstroke: Sophie Pascoe (QEII) 1:07.30, 1 (Qualified IPC Swimming World Championships); Rebecca Dubber (North Shore) 1:25.76, 2 (Qualified IPC Swimming World Championships); Nikita Howarth (Te Awamutu) 1:29.62.
• Women 200m freestyle: Olivia Hay (Whakatane) 2:53.43, 1.
• Men 50m breaststroke: Cameron Leslie (Laser Mt Eden) 57.50, 1; Daniel Gaualofa (Bay of Islands) 37.27, 2; Hamish McLean (Wanaka) 50.37, 3.