New Zealand Short Course Championships: Nielsen Varoy Downs New Zealand Record; Lauren Boyle Blazes 800 Free

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, October 1. THE second night of competition at the New Zealand Short Course Championships featured a pair of outstanding swims, including a New Zealand standard. This meet is serving as New Zealand's selection event for the World Short Course Championships in Turkey in December.

Olympian Lauren Boyle rocketed to an 8:15.73 in the women's 800 free to blast the world championship A cut by more than 13 seconds. That performance shot her to sixth in the world, up from her previous seventh-ranked time of 8:16.91 from Auckland in July. Tabitha Baumann finished a distant second in 8:30.22, while Emma Robinson touched third in 8:39.23.

Nielsen Varoy topped the New Zealand standard in the men's 50 free with a 22.01. That effort bested the previous standard of 22.12 set by Cameron Gibson back in 2007 on relay leadoff duty. Varoy topped Corey Main, who made the Worlds roster yesterday in the 100 back, before taking second in the sprint free with a 22.47. Kurt Crosland finished third in 22.90.

“He is a big guy at over two metres and freestyle is actually a very technical stroke especially at high speed for a tall guy,” said Varoy's coach Paul Kent. “He had a huge amount of promise as a youngster and hopefully this will stir him along to really start to believe in himself. Nielsen has worked really hard on his technique and is starting to see the rewards. A lot of it is him believing in himself on a daily basis.”

In other action, Samantha Richter won the women's 100 free in 55.17, while Samantha Lee took second in 55.21. Tash Hind rounded out the top three in 56.29. Lee bounced back with a win in the women's 50 fly with a 26.98. Sophia Batchelor placed second in 27.03, while Richter earned third in 27.38.

Nathan Capp snared the men's 400 IM title in 4:16.13, while Nick Gillum placed second in 4:17.73. Cameron Blair wound up third in 4:22.58. Additionally, Katie Kenneally tracked down the women's 200 breast crown in 2:29.10. Dayna Kiekebosch finished second in 2:32.12, while Emily McGill took home third in 2:32.21.

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