F-Teamers Shine at Victorian LC Champs
It was a big weekend for Victorian Swimming with the return to an unaltered program of heats and finals at the Victorian Open Long Course Championships. Held at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre from February 18-22, F-Teamers from Victoria and interstate came together for a chance to compete in their new APEX Predator X race suits after a limited 2021 season.
F-Teamer Mikayla Smith didn’t let her recent relocation to Queensland stop her from racing at her home state’s championships. Flying in from the Gold Coast with brother and fellow F-Teamer Brendon, Mikayla joined her former teammates at Nunawading, helping them finish as the number 1 club at the championships. Mikayla had a fantastic meet finishing up with two golds, a silver and a bronze.
“The Smith Show” kicked off on night one with sisters Mikayla and Reidel taking first and second spot in the 100m Breaststroke followed by Tassie F-Teamer Matilda Smith finishing 3rd. The same three swimmers swept the 200m Breaststroke event with Matilda winning gold in an amazing time of 2:26.92, setting her up well for the upcoming Commonwealth Games Trials later this year. Matilda’s time is also a Tasmanian State Open and 17 years record which places her 4th on the Australian all-time rankings for girls 17 years.
Another interstate swimmer who was keen to kick off the year with competitive interstate racing included Rockingham F-Teamer Holly Barratt. After a massive 2021 on the international race circuit, the sprint queen smashed her competition this weekend, stepping up to the podium for gold in the 50m Butterfly, 50m Backstroke and 50m and 100m Freestyle and silver in the 100m Butterfly. Looking to train for a bit of time here in Victoria, Holly is on track to perform well at Commonwealth Games trials later this year.
Backstroker Olivia Lefoe also helped take her club, Nunawading, to top spot over the course of the meet winning silver in the 100m Backstroke and bronze in the 50m Backstroke.
The competition also incorporated the 2022 Para Swimming World Series with Queensland Paralympians Katja Dedekind and Lucky Patterson making their way to Melbourne for a big weekend of racing. The results at each World Series event will be calculated using a standardised World Para Swimming points system.
It was a great start to what will be a very busy year with Commonwealth Games Trials coming up and World Champs back on the calendar.