Four Kiwi Men Go Sub-50 In 100 Free On Final Day of NZ Open

2017 NEW ZEALAND OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Monday, April 3rd – Friday, April 7th
• Sir Owen G. Glenn National Aquatic Centre, Auckland, NZ
• LCM
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap
• Results – Meet Mobile – 2017 NZ Open Championships

The final day of the 2017 New Zealand Open Championships took place in Auckland today, where Kiwi swimmers battled for the reaming spots on their nation’s World Championships rosters. The final line-up will be officially announced by the federation tomorrow, but recently appointed national Head Coach Jerry Olszewski is pleased with the promise of the squad.

“Overall the performances have exceeded my expectations. The swimmers within the high performance squad have all moved forward, some significantly,” said Olszewski. “There are other swimmers that I’ve been following who have really stood up here and there are some that I did not know who have performed well.

“Overall I am really impressed with the attitude. We have been working hard on our culture and I think our swimmers have led the way, working together positively as a team and supporting not only each other but all swimmers.”

17-year-old Gabrielle Fa’amausili came within a second of qualifying in the women’s 100m freestyle, notching a winning mark of 55.89. Although the FINA A cut is 54.90, both Fa’amausili and runner-up 15-year-old Latetia Transom (55.98) scored times under the 56-second barrier, which bodes well for the Kiwi youth.

The men’s squad saw 3 athletes dip beneath the 50-second threshold in tonight’s final, all of whom have qualified for the World Championships earlier in the meet. 25-year-old Matthew Stanley already punched his ticket in the men’s 200m freestyle, but took the 100m victory in a time of 49.59. Teammate Daniel Hunter, already on the roster in the men’s 50m freestyle, earned silver in 49.62, followed by Corey Main‘s bronze medal-winning effort of 49.72. Main already made the team in the 200m backstroke event on day 1.

Sam Perry, who competes for Stanford stateside, also went underneath the 50-second barrier in the prelims today, touching in 49.48 for the top seed. He wound up finishing in 50.09 for 4th tonight.

22-year-old Emma Robinson went under the Budapest qualifying mark in the women’s 1500m freestyle this morning. The 22-year-old, who already scored a roster spot in the 800m free, touched in 16:30.16 to win the event in over 20 seconds.

New Zealand World Championships Qualifiers Through Day 5:

Corey Main – 200 backstroke
Helena Gasson – 50 butterfly, 200 IM
Emma Robinson – 800 freestyle, 1500 freestyle
Matthew Stanley – 200 freestyle
Sam Perry – 50 freestyle
Daniel Hunter – 50 freestyle
Gabrielle Fa’amausili – 50 freestyle
Bradlee Ashby – 200 IM

Additional Winners on the Day:

• Bronagh Ryan won the women’s 50m breaststroke in a time of 32.32.
• Syria’s Azad Al-Barazi scored the victory in the men’s 50m breaststroke, clocking 28.41.