2022 FINA World Short Course - Preview
New Zealand Swimmers Converge Upon Australia For The Ultimate Summer Showdown
Anticipation is building as teams travel across the ditch to multiple swimming championships across 3 Australian states to round out the end of the calendar year. Headlined by the New Zealand team, made up of 19 swimmers and 7 support staff, competing at the 16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre. The team has a mixture of experienced Aquablacks, such as Olympians Helena Gasson and Erika Fairweather, alongside a blend of Aquablack debutants from earlier in the year and some swimmers representing New Zealand for the first time.
Congratulations to the team selected to represented our country:
Louis Clark – North Shore
Caitlin Deans – Neptune
Zac Dell - Pukekohe
Erika Fairweather – Neptune
Kane Follows – North Shore
Helena Gasson – Coast
Josh Gilbert - Pukekohe
Emma Godwin – Heretaunga Sundevils
Cameron Gray – North Shore
Luan Grobbelaar – Neptune
Ruby Heath – Neptune
Ben Littlejohn – St Paul’s
Rebecca Moynihan - Pukekohe
Summer Osborne – North Shore
Hazel Ouwehand – Phoenix Aquatics
Esme Paterson – Neptune
Mya Rasmussen – Kiwi West Aquatics
Carter Swift - Pukekohe
George Williams - Coast
Settling In Period
High Performance Manager, Amanda White, has travelled across first for a smooth team preparation. “Familiarising ahead of the teams’ arrival reduces a lot of stress, especially when the weather is warm and the athletes are hungry!” Initial preparations are going well, with the facilities in Melbourne looking very impressive. The first contingent of 11 athletes and all staff arrived on Saturday, whilst the remaining 8 swimmers headlined by Aquablacks Carter Swift and Cameron Gray will compete at the Queensland Championships to fine-tune their preparations before switching cities to join the rest of the team.
Head Coach, Michael Weston, will lead a presentation of the World Championships caps on Monday night. This will be a special moment for the team, as it is such an honour to represent New Zealand and one that each swimmer on the team should be extremely proud of.
The team will be strongly supported by:
Michael Weston – Coast (Head Coach)
Willy Benson – Heretaunga Sundevils (Coach)
Graham Smith – St Paul’s (Coach)
Kurt Crosland – Swim Dunedin (Coach)
David Lyles - Phoenix Aquatics (Coach)
Matthew Ingram (Performance Analyst)
Alex Lowen (Physiotherapist)
Amanda White (Team Manager)
The 6-day championships get underway on Tuesday 13 December, with the sporting capital of the world ready to put on the ultimate summer showdown. The heat lists are yet to be released, so keep an eye on out for these and a daily wrap over the coming days. Heats sessions will get underway at 1pm NZDT (11am AEDT) and finals session 9.30pm NZDT (7.30pm AEDT).
Other Teams In Australia
There are a total 86 swimmers from New Zealand competing at the 2022 Queensland Championships and some teams have also opted to race at the 2022 NSW Senior State Age Championships, with both beginning on Saturday 10 December. This is a great opportunity for our swimmers to experience racing in Australia, and we support the regional teams and individuals who have travelled across the ditch. Best of luck to these swimmers.
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