Six Aussie Masters Records Fall at New South Wales Long Course Champs

Stephen J. Thomas

SYDNEY, Australia, March 21. FIVE individual and one relay national standards fell at the New South Wales long course Masters Championships at the Blacktown pool (a north-western suburb of Sydney) last weekend.

Twenty-eight year-old Nahomi Eriguchi swimming for this writer's North Sydney club made the most of her first Masters season Down Under lowering three Aussie marks in the 25-29 age group. Eriguchi, a former squad member with the Japanese swim team, stroked records in the 50/100 dorsal events, clocking a sharp 32:16 and 1:10.45 respectively as well as clocking 28.24 to trim 0.26 off the 50 freestyle mark.

The other two individual records went in the men’s 75-79 age group where David Lawler from the Manly club took just over half-a-second off the old record to clock 1:40.49 in the 100 back and Allan Dufty carved four and a half seconds off the previous 100 fly record to touch in 1:57.44. Lawler also went a 45.84 in the 50 back to set a new State record and Dufty also set State standards for the 50 breaststroke (49.65) and 200 breast (4:15.13).

Two more state records fell in the women’s 80-84 age group, both by over thirty seconds. Val Lincoln slashed the old mark of 7:02.92 for the 200 breaststroke to record 6:28.14 and Jan Allport went 2:56.83 in the two-lap race crushing the old standard (3:30.07).

Last — but by no means least — those mighty lads from the Warringah club on the northern beaches of Sydney set a new national record of 2:20.15 for the men’s 280+ 4×50 freestyle relay. The team of Noel Peters, Authur Lith, Max Van Gelder and Ian Wheat (see photo) took the long-standing record held by the Ettalong club set at the World Masters Games in Brisbane in 1988 (2:20.53). The same team also broke the national short course record by seven seconds last year.

The Australian Masters Championships will be held in Adelaide from 29 March to April 4, unfortunately for this correspondent right in the middle of the Olympic Trials.

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