New Zealand's teenage swim talent take on world's best
New Zealand best teenage talent will taste top quality international competition around the globe starting tomorrow.
Sixteen top age groupers will compete in the Junior Pan Pacific Championships that start in Guam tomorrow, where they will take on the best age group talent from the USA, Australia, China, Canada and Japan among the 14 competing federations.
Next week a further 17 junior swimmers will take part in the Australian Youth Olympics in Sydney, where they will meet full-strength competition from Australia, great Britain and Japan included in the multi-sport festival which is a legacy from the 2000 Olympics.
Ironically the weather may prove a factor in Guam with rainstorms delaying practice sessions this week at the outdoor facility.
World youth champion and Beijing Olympian Daniel Bell is the top ranked swimmer in his backstroke events but for most of the kiwi contingent, it will be a key learning experience competing against many of the best in the world at the same age group.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to mix it with the best in these age groups,” said head coach Jan Cameron, Swimming New Zealand’s general manager, performance and pathways.
“This competition is a level above the world youth. Europe aside, it has the absolute best age group talent in the world here, and they are in big numbers also.
“With a country our size and with our athletes, we have found that they tend to develop a little later which we have found with our elite swimmers.
“It is going to be white hot competition for them and a real test to see if they can still perform to their best.”
Bell (West Auckland) has an exhaustive schedule over the four-day meet but has been in sparkling form at the recent national summer championships where he broke Dean Kent’s individual medley record and his own backstroke mark.
Fellow West Auckland swimmer Starn Simpson and Wellington’s Gareth Kean could be contenders for finals.
The other challenger will be former Oceania champion Kane Radford (Rotorua) in the 10km open water competition.
The pool programme runs from tomorrow until Sunday, with heats in the morning and finals at night, with the open water competition on Monday.
The New Zealand team is:
Daniel Bell (West Auckland Aquatics), Shaun Burnett (North Shore), Cameron Burrows (Howick Pakuranga), Mitchell Donaldson (North Shore), Dylan Dunlop-Barrett (Bell Block), Gareth Kean (Capital), Shane Patience (Waves), Kane Radford (Aquatx Rotorua) , Starn Simpson (West Auckland Aquatics).
Female: Elizabeth Brown (Ashburton), Chloe Francis (North Shore), Amaka Gessler (AquaGym), Samantha Lee (Capital), Samantha Lucie-Smith (Karori Pirates), Ellen Quirke (Capital), Phoebe Williams (Waves)
Coaches: Jan Cameron, Donna Bouzaid (West Auckland), Simon Mayne (West Auckland).
Manager: Ester Price (Southland).