Another Kirsty Coventry Age Group Record Tumbles to Samantha Welch in Zimbabwe

By Glen Byrom

MASHONALAND, Zimbabwe, October 22. WITH a mind as strong as her wiry body 11-year-old Samantha Welch of Spartans Club, cracked yet another Kirsty Coventry record at the Mashonaland short course meter swimming gala at Heritage School on Oct. 21. She broke four Zimbabwe short-course records on the day and headed the list of 10 national records to fall.

Those who breached standing Zimbabwe records on the day were Welch, James Lawson (12, Pirates), Federico Bescotti (10, Pirates), Matthew Lawson (14, Pirates) and Jessica Byrom (13, Spartans).

Welch devastated the field in the 100 breaststroke (11-12 years) as she set out with a clear vision to get the record. Her time of 1:21.98 � just 27 days before her 12th birthday � beat Coventry's 1:23.99 for the age group and also bettered Michelle Jenkinson's 1:22.40 national mark for the 13-year-old group. Within the space of a month, the Chisipite Junior School pupil has broken three records held by Coventry, Zimbabwe's Olympic champion who will be going for gold again at Beijing next year.

Welch's other two records on Sunday came in the 100 IM. Her time of 1:14.95 shattered Maxine Heard's 1:18.43 mark for 12 year olds, and also Moira Fraser's 1:16.65 time for 13 year olds. Byrom of Chisipite Senior School also broke Fraser's 13-year-olds 100 IM record by a full second, with a time of 1:15.64, though Welch will now go into the record books for this age group as well as her own.

James Lawson was also in commanding form in winning the 12-year-olds 100 breaststroke in 1:23.20, slicing more than two seconds off the previous record of 1:25.51. He then shaved the 100 IM record of 1:17.70, held by his brother Matthew, with a time of 1:17.09.

Not to be outshone, Matthew Lawson, 14, stormed to 1:09.73 in the 14-year-olds 100 IM to beat his own record of 1:11.50 and also beat the 15-year-olds Mashonaland record. Lawson is fast emerging as one of Zimbabwe's finest male swimmers, and appears to be the best prospect to win a gold medal at the Junior All Africa Championships in Cairo in early December.

Fraser, 16, who will soon leave for the Pretoria High Performance Swimming Centre to join her friend Heard, lowered her own 100 IM record of 1:10.51 with a time of 1:09.98, and will also be a good medal prospect for Cairo.

In the junior ranks on Sunday, it was "Chicco" Bescotti who dominated the 10 and unders with four firsts and a second in his five races. The Pirates swimmer again showed his great potential for the future by cracking James Lawson's national record of 40.94s for the 50 backstroke with a new time of 40.32, which was also a Mashonaland 11-year-olds record.

Others to particularly impress on Sunday included Drew Rosser (14, Pirates), Sean Gunn (14, Spartans), Bree Caterall (10, Spartans), Tara Wallace (13, Spartans), Niamh van der Nest (9, Spartans), Dayna Yorke (10, Pirates), Bart Zwart (12, Spartans), Tarryn Rennie (12, Spartans), Slaone Marshall (12, Otters) and Alexander Derry (17, Sharks).

Rennie conquered Welch in two of their five races � the 100 backstroke (1:20.32 to 1:21.92) and the 100 freestyle. Her free time of 1:04.39 was a storming swim, a few split seconds off the national record, which again showed that she is a serious talent who is good enough to win a medal at South Africa's premier age group event, Prestige in east London in March. If she steps up a gear in determination and dedication, then even gold may be in her grasp.

Byrom, with a new faster tempo and focused mind, excelled in taking the 13-14 100 breaststroke in 1:22.42 � an agonizing .02 seconds off the national record, and then smoothly stroking away from the field in record time in the IM to underline her all-round prowess. Wallace also stood out in the 13-14 age group, winning the 100 freestyle in 1:04.30, a touch ahead of Syanne Graham, and tearing away from the pack in the 100 backstroke in 1:15.83. Surely, she is an automatic choice to spearhead the 13-14 age group for the Zimbabwe team to go to the Junior All Africa Championships in Cairo.

Gunn, the 14-year-old from Spartans, was also in imposing form in the 13-14 group, easily winning the 100 backstroke in 1:12.86 and the 100 butterfly in 1:15.11 and taking third in the IM. Apart from the vaunted Matthew Lawson, this strong group also features the talented 14-year-old Rosser of Pirates. Rosser (1:03.54) gained a fingernail victory over Gunn (1:03.70) in the 100 freestyle, then easily won the 100 breaststroke (1:16.01) and was second only to Lawson in the IM.

The ever-grinning nine-year-old van der Nest of Spartans continued to sparkle as a specialist breaststroker and eclipsed a field of 26 swimmers in the 10 and under 50 event in a time of 47.45 � almost five seconds faster than her nearest rival.

Caterall, 10, of Spartans is also continuing to improve and catch the eye as an excellent prospect for the future. She edged out York of Pirates in the 50 backstroke (44.01 to 44.80), won the 50 freestyle in 35.29, finished second in the 50 butterfly to Jessica Wright and again just edged out Yorke in a thrilling 200 IM (1:38.32 to 1:38.40). Little eight-year-old Robyn Lee of Spartans did not clinch any places at this gala but she was swimming two years out of her age group and therefore her sixth place in the freestyle (39.32), fourth in the backstroke (47.67), fifth in the butterfly (48.54) and ninth in the IM (1:47.64) earmarked her as a truly outstanding prospect for the future.

Alexander Derry, 17, of Sharks impressively won two events in the 15 and over category � the 200 IM (1:09.51) and the 100 backstroke (1:12.64), though his Mashonaland record in the latter may be denied because of unqualified timekeepers in his lane. No matter, he has the talent to do it again.

Spartans won the club aggregate with 802 points, ahead of Pirates (315.5), Otters (252.5), Sharks (177), Highlands (84) and Dorados (2).

In other Zimbabwe news, Levi Fargnoli shaved the 10 year olds Matabeleland 200 freestyle record in Bulawayo on Oct. 19, clocking 2:52.66 ahead of his talented rival Jamie Isemonger (2:58.69). The previous record was set in 1992 by Aidan Keates with 2:52.78. There are no national records for this age group over this grueling distance, but the Matabeles have long swum the event.

Another Matabele record fell to Connor Pritchard (Zambezi Tigers, Victoria Falls) in the 11 year olds 50 breaststroke. His 42.45 just trimmed the record of 42.82 set by Kieran Garnbie in 2003.

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