Ouwehand breaks own NZ butterfly record
- Dave Worsley
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Paris Olympian Hazel Ouwehand has broken the record in the 50m butterfly at the New Zealand Swimming Championships in Auckland.
The 25-year-old powered across the pool to post a time of 25.43s and shatter her own record by .45 of a second.
LATEST HEADLINES:
“That felt phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal,” said Ouwehand.
“That was the goal going into it tonight, was to break my NZ record, I’ve been really close to it the last few months and I knew that I had it in me. I was thinking 25.66s, but to go 25.43s, I’m beyond happy.”
As well as breaking the national record the time has also qualified Ouwehand for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
The swim was notable with two other athletes also going under the qualification time for the World Aquatics Championships. 18-year-old Zoe Pedersen continued her strong meet, placing second in 26.15s,
Thirty-two-year-old Laura Quilter capped off her comeback from retirement, placing third in 26.22s. It is the first time New Zealand has ever had three Butterfly athletes swim a World Champs qualification time.
Earlier in the evening Olympians Erika Fairweather, Eve Thomas and Caitlin Deans delivered an exciting 400m Freestyle final to all swim under the qualification time for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
Fairweather built a healthy lead as she maintained a good pace throughout her favoured race. The 21-year-old swimmer touched the wall in 4:03.06s, more than 7-seconds under the World Champs qualification time.
Deans and Thomas were again locked in a battle for second place, swimming neck and neck for the entire race. Thomas took a slight lead into the last 50m, which she held to finish in 4:08.05, just ahead of Deans in 4:08.81s.
The times saw all three of the swimmers qualify for the 400m Freestyle at the World Championships to be held in Singapore in July.
“I wasn’t thrilled with my time and I felt like I left a little bit out there but it’s great that three of us qualified,” said Fairweather.
“I’m really enjoying the week and especially seeing some young athletes swim some great times,” said Fairweather.
The race also saw a great swim from 17-year-old Alyssa Tapper who clocked 4:15.76s to again go under the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships qualification time.
The women’s 100m Backstroke had two athletes tying for first place. Coast swimmers Milan Glintmeyer and Amber George were unable to be separated, both finishing in exactly 1:00.84s to share the national title, with the time seeing Glintmeyer again qualify for the event at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships. Tess Whineray finished in third.
Kane Follows added another national title to his name in the 100m Backstroke, but he was made to work for it by Zac Dell. Dell held the lead at the halfway mark but a strong second 50m from Follows saw him take the win in 55.23s. Dell placed second and Jasper Cornish third.
Ariel Muchirahondo also had a great swim in the 100m Backstroke, setting a 16 years national age group record in 56.58s. The result saw him again swim under the qualification time for the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships.
In the multi class swimming Rylee Sayer again swam under the qualification time for the World Para Swimming Championships. Competing in the 50m Butterfly the S7 swimmer clocked a time of 37.36s for the win. Gaby Smith took second and Lili-Fox Mason third.
Three-time Paralympic gold medallist Cameron Leslie (S4) also qualified for the Worlds in the 50m Backstroke multi class, placing second in a time of 43.53s. Jole Watkins (S19) placed first in the 50m Backstroke, the Pukekohe swimmer clocking an impressive 32.92s with Lance Dustow (S19) in third.
Chloe Gladwin (S19) was impressive to win the women’s 400m Freestyle multi class in 5:01.42s. Lili-Fox Mason (S10) placed second and Melissa Donoghue (S18) third.
Tate Picton (S19) swam well in the men’s 400m Freestyle multi class, clocking a time of 5:08.52s for the win. Joseph Blake (S18) finished second and Jonty Howland (S6) third.
In the women’s 50m Backstroke multi class Chloe Gladwin (S19) was back in action and set a New Zealand record to place first with a fast time of 37.71s. Melissa Donoghue (S18) finished second with Camilla Witt taking the visitor bronze and Rylee Sayer in third.
Back in the open swimming, Cameron Gray added another national title to his name in the men’s 50m Butterfly. Gray touched the wall in 23.83s ahead of Jack Hendy in second and Caleb Carlisle in third.
Monique Wieruszowski won her second national title this meet. Competing in the 200m Breaststroke, the 17-year-old was in second place heading into the final 50m but rallied to take the win in 2:31.92s.
The result saw Wieruszowski again go under the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships qualification time. Zyleika Pratt-Smith placed second and Melissa Cowen third.
Hara Huges produced a dominant swim in men’s 200m Breaststroke to comfortably take the national title. The Coast swimmer dug deep to post a time of 2:16.23s ahead of Jacob Story who took the visitor silver with Blair Helms winning the Kiwi silver and Kevin Zhang Kiwi bronze.
