Ingram Makes Record Setting Swimming Return

North Shore swimmer Melissa Ingram is back. The 24 year old Ingram broke the New Zealand record twice and went under the qualifying mark for next year’s Commonwealth Games to lead a successful first day for the kiwi contingent at the Queensland State Championships in Brisbane

Ingram highlighted a strong day for the kiwis with six swims under the qualifying times for next year’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Ingram went under the qualifying mark in the 200m freestyle and 100m backstroke, with others to better the New Delhi target times included her North Shore clubmates Emily Thomas, Jessie Blundell, Daniel Bell and Andrew McMillan.

Swimmers can only achieve qualification for the Commonwealth Games if they better the times in a final at the official trials in April, but today’s results have encouraged Swimming New Zealand’s Jan Cameron.

“It was a really good start. With only three places available in the final for non-Queensland based swimmers, so there’s been some fierce competition between swimmers from New South Wales, Victoria, Great Britain, Japan and ourselves. Our swimmers have to get up and swim fast with full intensity in the morning heats or they will miss out on the finals,” Cameron said.

“In some cases the swimmers were not able to go faster again in finals tonight but in general the performances were excellent.”

Ingram enjoyed a superb return to international competition after a three month layoff this year following her shock failure to qualify for the FINA World Championships earlier this year.

She bounced back to become the first New Zealand woman under the magical two minute barrier in the 200m freestyle during the morning heats. She set a new national record clocking 1:59.67, nearly half a second under Helen Norfolk’s previous record, and 2/10ths under the Commonwealth Games standard.

Ingram made a mess of that new record when she went 1:58.32 in finishing second in the final, with Wellington’s Tash Hind (International Training Centre) just a fingertip away from also going under the two minute mark in finishing fifth.

“It was two excellent swims from Melissa who really went for it tonight. That’s a big barrier to be broken and she almost led Tash (Hind) under as well. My hope now is we can get a group under the two minute mark and then we have a good chance to develop a women’s freestyle relay team for the Commonwealth Games.”


Ingram also went under the Games time in finishing fifth in the final of the 100m backstroke, with young clubmates Thomas and Blundell stole the limelight, finishing second and third respectively behind Beijing Olympic gold medallist Emily Seebohm.
Thomas showed her potential by establishing a New Zealand record of 1:00.22, which was nearly half a second inside Liz Coster’s old mark. Blundell set a personal best with a 1:00.82 and Ingram was fifth in 1:01.18, which is a boost ahead of her favoured 200m backstroke.

McMillan won the final of the 200m freestyle in 1:48.49, slightly slower than his heat time but under the Games time for the second time.

Bell looked strong in finishing second in the final of the 100m backstroke. After his impressive 54.53 in the morning, he was a fraction slower tonight after reverting to the new swim suits which come into official regulation in the New Year.

Corney Swanepoel (International Training Centre) managed fifth in the final of the 100m butterfly in a useful 53.98, with 1/10th of a second covering second to sixth placings.

There are 2270 swimmers competing from 156 clubs including 43 international and interstate clubs at the four-day event.