Australian Age Championships, Night 5: Teenage Speed Demons Flynn Southam and Olivia Wunsch On Song With Flying 50s

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL: Flynn Southam as solid as a rock under coach Chris Mooney. Photo Courtesy Bond University.

Australian Age Championships, Night 5: Teenage Speed Demons Flynn Southam and Olivia Wunsch On Song With Flying 50s

Australia’s freestyle sprinting stocks are continuing to flourish with outstanding performances by “super teens” Flynn Southam and Olivia Wunsch on night five of the Australian Age Group Swimming Championships on the Gold Coast.

BEST FOOT FORWARD: Flynn Southam off to a flyer. Photo Courtesy: Swimming Australia.

Southam, a four-time gold medallist at last year’s Junior Pan Pacs in Hawaii, who also tasted relay gold at the Commonwealth Games and World Short Course, served notice that he was ready to rip on night four with his 50m freestyle relay split of 22.26.

And tonight he produced second and third doses of speed – winning the 17 years 50m freestyle final in 22.40 before splitting 47.95 to anchor another Bond University relay home in the 4x100m freestyle.

His 50m time was just 0.25 outside Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers 2015 Australian Age record time of 22.15 – a touch outside his own personal best time of 22.36, when he was in career best form at last year’s Junior Pan Pacs.

His relay split only just outside his 47.87, also swum at the Junior Pan Pacs.

Wunsch, who learnt to swim in the famous Forbes Carlile Cross Street pool has come right through the club’s ranks, representing Australia at last year’s Junior Pan Pacs with Southam – winning silver and bronze medals.

And she delivered in spades tonight, equally impressive in winning the 16 years 50m freestyle in 24.85 – just 0.17 outside triple Olympic gold medallist Cate Campbell’s 2009 Australian All-Comers mark of 24.68 – her first time under 25 seconds.

WUNSCH BITTEN: Carlile’s Olivia Wunsch making her mark at the Age Nationals. Photo Courtesy: Daily Telegraph.

After winning the 200m individual medley earlier in the program in a personal best time of 2:15.91 – leaving triple gold medallist at this meet Taryn Roberts (Rocky City, QLD) in second in 2:19.27 and Haylee Reid (Griffith University, QLD) third in 2:20.62.

Also showing outstanding freestyle form were 15-year-olds Ainsley Trotter (St Peters Western, QLD) and Sylvia Czajko (UWA West Coast, WA) who continued their duels in the pool with Trotter turning the tables on her arch rival to win the 50m freestyle by a fingernail – 25.66 to 25.68.

It came after Czajko had earlier in the meet won the 15-years 100m freestyle over Trotter in a similar finish – the WA girl snatching the gold in 56.26 to Trotter’s 56.33.

Later in the evening Trotter was involved in another shoot-out in the 100m backstroke, this time it was Zoe Ammundsen (Iona College, QLD) winning in 1:02.04 who turned the tables on Trotter who had beaten her on night one in the 50m backstroke – Trotter finishing with silver in 1:02.55.

While WA’s Isobel Sheldrick (St Hildas, WA) 1:02.56 (third in the 50m) was the barest margin away, again in third in 1:02.56.

While in the 16-years boys it was Cranbrook’s Marcus da Silva who added the boys 50m title in 23.31 to his win in the 100m in 50.05 as he tries desperately to get under the magical 50 second barrier – so often a milestone in a swimmer’s career that comes when they least expect it.

While the 100m girls butterfly in the 14 years saw Manly Swimming Club’s Lillie McPherson scoot away to take the gold in 1:00.08 – again so close to that magical 60n seconds barrier.

And her Manly club mate Joshua Kerr, gold last night in the 50m backstroke, was also involved in another battle of the beaches classic shoot out with Miami’s Karl Albertyn in the 17 years 200m individual medley – Albertyn taking it out in 2:02.29 to Kerr’s 2:02.45.

The opening race of the night again saw Darwin hot shot Macey Sheridan from the Northern Territory at the top end of her age group collect her third gold medal in three nights – this time in the 13 years 100m backstroke – clocking an eye-catching 1:03.69.

(And it is worth noting that the Australian record of 1:02.23 was set back in 2015 by none other than 2020 Olympic champion and now world record holder Kaylee McKeown.)

Coached by Tim Few – a Northern territory Coach of The Year winner, Sheridan has now won the 200m backstroke, the 50m freestyle and the 100m backstroke – with the 100 and 200m freestyle, 200IM and the 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly to come.

There was another great swim from Amelia Weber (St Peters Western, QLD) who added the 200m freestyle to her 400m win– taking the 200m freestyle in 1:58.42 while St Peters Western’s Queensland State Surf champion Kai Gilbert’s 1:52.82 to win the 200m freestyle also caught the eye.

Results, Day 5

2023 Australian Age Championships, Day 5

13 years

100m backstroke

Macey Sheridan (Darwin, NT) 1:03.69
Heidi Shumack (SOPAC, NSW) 1:05.71
Olivia Holmes (South Gippsland, VIC) 1:06.00

50m breaststroke

Georgia Edwards (Sunshine Coast Grammar, QLD) 33.08
Lilla Ribot-de-Bressac (Newmarket Racers, QLD) 33.27
Maya Zunker (Miami, QLD) 33.40

400m freestyle

Olivia Galea (St Peters Western, QLD) 4:30.12
Bridget Bass (SLC Aquadot, NSW) 4:31.42
Isobel Mulcahy (Carlile, NSW) 4:33.96

14 years

100m butterfly

Lillie McPherson (Manly Swimming Club, NSW) 1:00.08
Lily Koch (MLC Aquatic, NSW) 1:03.58
Sophie Jacka (Melbourne, VIC) 1:03.98

50m breaststroke

Olympia Pope (Miami, QLD) 32.24
Isabelle Rae (Albury, NSW) 323.64
Sienna Toohey (Albury, NSW) 32.76

200m freestyle

Ava Gaske (Chandler, QLD) 2:03.91
Clara Carrocci (Norwood, SA) 2:05.18
Zahri Jarrett (Somerset, QLD) 2:06.92

15 years

50m freestyle

Ainsley Trotter (St Peters Western, QLD) 25.66
Sylvia Czajko (UWA West Coast, WA) 25.68
Jessica Deane (Cairns Stingrays, QLD) 26.42

200m butterfly

Mikayla Bird (Bond, QLD) 2:12.76
Rafaela Kopellou (SOPAC, NSW) 2:14.66
Isabella Osborn (MLC Aquatic, NSW) 2:17.20

100m backstroke

Zoe Ammundsen (Iona College, QLD) 1:02.04
Ainsley Trotter (St Peters Western, QLD) 1:02.55
Isobel Sheldrick (St Hildas, WA) 1:02.56

16 years

200m individual medley

Olivia Wunsch (Carlile, NSW) 2:15.91
Taryn Roberts (Rocky City, QLD) 2:19.27
Haylee Reid (Griffith University, QLD) 2:20.62

50m freestyle

Olivia Wunsch (Carlile, NSW) 24.85
Hannah Casey (Marist College Ashgrove, QLD) 25.28
Milla Jansen (Bond, QLD) 25.36

17 years

200m freestyle

Amelia Weber (St Peters Western, QLD) 1:58.42
Jamie de Lutiis (Wests Illawarra, NSW) 1:59.59
Isabella Boyd (Nunawading, VIC) 2:00.64

50m backstroke

Semra Olowoniyi (Dve Aquatic, VIC) 29.25
Tameeka Johnson (Sans Souci, NSW) 29.33
Blake Millard (MLC Aquatic, NSW) 29.83

BOYS

14 years

100m backstroke

Logan Rieck (Norwood, SA) 58.57
Henry Allan (Bendigo East, VIC) 59.75
Lachlan Davies (Warringah, NSW) 59.83

50m breaststroke

William Brownlee (MLC Marlins, NSW) 31.25
Jonathan Leong (Geelong, VIC) 31.29
Andre Venter (Ambrose Treacy, QLD) 31.42

15 years

100m butterfly

Cash Milner (Kincumber Pacific Dolphins, NSW) 55.88
Dylan Pieterse (Redlands, QLD) 56.11
Eric He (Nunawading, VIC) 56.30

200m freestyle

Kai Gilbert (St Peters Western, QLD) 1:52.82
Lucas Fackerell (Breakers, WA) 1:55.82
Nicholas Stoupas (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) 1:55.96

50m breaststroke

Nicholas Stoupas (Melbourne Vicentre) 29.09
Thomas Sutherland (Propulsion, VIC) 29.74
Ryan Bambach (Sunshine Coast Grammar, QLD) 30.48

16 years

50m freestyle

Marcus da Silva (Cranbrook, NSW) 23.31
Thomas Booth (Southside, QLD) 23.47
Caleb Yago (The Hills, NSW) 23.50

200m butterfly

Ike Martinez (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) 2:01.71
Samuel Higgs (Warringah, NSW) 2:04.04
James Gauci (SOPAC, NSW) 2:04.42

100m backstroke

Nicholas Gladen (Macquarie University, NSW) 58.05
Hayden Hoang (SOPAC, NSW) 58.11
Kody Byrne (Bond, QLD) 58.57

17 years

200m individual medley

Karl Albertyn (Miami, QLD) 2:02.29
Joshua Kerr (Manly, NSW) 2:02.45
Bill Atkinson (Patriots, QLD) 2:05.71

50m freestyle

Flynn Southam (Bond, QLD) 22.40
Koby Bujak-Upton (Knox Pymble, NSW) 2.22
Jamison Morgan (Somerset, QLD) 23.39

18 years

200m freestyle

Edward Sommerville (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) 1:49.37
Hugh Dolle (St Peters Western, QLD) 1:50.36
Jack Goyen (Marist Brothers Ashgrove, QLD) 1:51.21

50m backstroke

Ryder Lambert (Southport, QLD) 26.20
Enoch Robb (All Saints, QLD) 26.29
Tom Wyatt (Arena, WA) 26.35

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