Three Medals and More Records for Kiwis in Australian Swim Championships

New Zealand swimmers won three medals and set four new national records on the second day of the Australian short course championships in Hobart last night.

The medals were all of different colours led by victory for Glenn Snyders (International Training Centre) in the 100m breaststroke with a silver to his Clubmate Corney Swanepoel in the 100m butterfly and bronze to North Shore’s Daniel Bell in the 100m backstroke.

North Shore’s Hayley Palmer continued on from her outstanding form in the recent world championships in Rome, qualifying sixth for the final of the 100m freestyle but setting two New Zealand records in the process.

The other New Zealand records went to fellow North Shore swimmer Emily Thomas in the 100m backstroke while Swanepoel broke his own national mark in the butterfly final.

Snyders dominated the final of the 100m breaststroke, leading throughout to win by nearly a second in 58.88, just outside his national record set at last year’s New Zealand championships.

Swanepoel produced a superb effort to finish second to Australia’s elder statesman Adam Pine, an Olympic gold medallist and world short course champion, in the final of the 100m butterfly where the Australian’s time of 49.71 broke the Commonwealth record. The kiwi raced home in 50.42, half a second inside his previous New Zealand record set at the 2008 world short course championships.

Bell finished third in the final of the 100m backstroke won by world championship medallist Robert Hurley in 50.93 with the New Zealander home in 51.41, right on his previous best in the time trial before the worlds in Rome.

Palmer showed her intentions by slashing nearly 7/10ths of a second off her own national record during the heats of the 100m freestyle, clocking 53.69. She reduced this again to 53.57 in the semifinals, where she was sixth fastest for the finals led by world champion Lisbeth Trickett.

Thomas, who broke the national record in her semifinal of the 100m backstroke to 58.33 yesterday, lowered it again in the final. She was a fingertip away from going under the 58 second barrier, clocking 58.02 to finish fourth in the final where Australian star Emily Seehohn broke the Commonwealth record in 57.47.

The championships continue until Wednesday.