Fairweather breaks record in 200m freestyle
- 16 hours ago
- 3 min read
Olympian Erika Fairweather (North Shore) starred onf day two of the New Zealand Swimming Championships, breaking a New Zealand record and swimming under the Commonwealth Games qualification time in the first event of the night.
Competing in the women’s 200m freestyle at the National Aquatic Centre in Auckland, Fairweather got off to a strong start before settling into her rhythm to build a good lead.
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In a solid position after 150m, the 22-year-old then decided to go for it, flying home with a 29.04 in her last 50m to finish in 1:55.06s and break the New Zealand record.
“I feel like that has been a long time coming,” said Fairweather.
“I didn’t expect it to be tonight but I couldn’t be happier. I knew I had more to give going into that last 50m so I went for it and it was way faster than I thought.”
Caitlin Deans (Neptune) finished second, ahead of Eve Thomas (Coast) in third. In the 17-18 years division Alyssa Tapper (St Peters) took gold in 2:02.12s, followed by Olivia Emmett (Swim Rotorua) in silver and Holli Macdonald (Hamilton Aquatics) in bronze.
In the women’s 100m backstroke a host of swimmers showcasing the depth in the event. Milan Glintmeyer (Coast) was in fine form to swim 1:00.22s to equal the New Zealand record in her heat and swim under the qualifying time for the Pan Pacific Championships.
Glintmeyer finished second in the final, behind Amber George (Coast) who also went under the Pan Pacs qualification time in 1:00.27s. Savannah Eve Martin rounded out the podium for Coast.
The men’s 100m butterfly was won by Lewis Clareburt who fought back after being in fourth place at the halfway mark. Clareburt was quick over the second 50 to touch the wall in 52.69s, just outside of his PB, with the time another indicator of the strong form he’s in. Chris Elson (Vikings) took the Kiwi silver and Caleb Carlisle (Napier Aquahawks) the Kiwi bronze.
In the 200m women’s freestyle mixed multi class Chloe Gladwin (S19, Whakatane) backed up her strong heat swim to set an S19 New Zealand record in a time of 2:19.59s. Aimee Van Aardt (S18, Pukekohe) won silver, with Melissa Donoghue (S18, Hamilton Aquatics) taking bronze.
The men’s version of the same event also saw a New Zealand record set. Daniel Smith (S19, Pukekohe - 2:04.14s) went four seconds under the New Zealand record to take the Kiwi gold. James Haydon (S14, United) took the silver and Ian Chen (S19, St Pauls) the bronze.
The women’s mixed multi class 100m butterfly saw Rylee Sayer (S7, Hamilton Aquatics) in the pool for the first time at the meet. The 17-year-old didn’t disappoint, swimming a 1:22.40s for the win. Chloe Gladwin placed second and Lili-Fox Mason (S10, Wharenui) third. Aimee van Aardt (S18, Pukekohe) also set a NZ record in 1:54.31s.
The men’s version of the same event saw Daniel Smith continue his standout meet to set another New Zealand record. Smith clocked 1:00.03s to finish ahead of Asher Smith-Franklin (S14, Coast) who took the Kiwi silver, and Joshua Willmer (S9, Coast) who took the Kiwi bronze.
It was a clean sweep for United in the men’s 50m freestyle. Harrison Klouwens (United) stormed home in the last 10 metres to take the win in 22.32s, ahead of team mates Michael Pickett who took silver, and Cameron Gray who earned bronze.
The women’s 100m breaststroke featured one of the tightest finishes of the evening. Brearna Crawford (Waitakere) faced a challenge over the last 25 metres from Zyleika Pratt-Smith (Coast), with Crawford just holding on to take the gold in 1:09.92. Pratt-Smith finished second and Alex McIntosh (United) third.
