2023 QUEENSLAND SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Saturday, February 11th & Sunday, February 12th
- Brisbane Aquatic Center, Queensland, Australia
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Site
- Results
The 2023 Queensland Sprint Championships wrapped up at the Brisbane Aquatic Center over the weekend. Elite and age groupers alike took to the pool for showdowns in 50m sprints of each stroke, with prelims and finals taking place in the same session.
Olympian Cameron McEvoy put up a solid swim in the open men’s 50m free race, posting a final time of 22.03. That was after he claimed the top seed out of the prelim with a mark of 22.15.
McEvoy, who now trains at Somerville, saw his 22.03 final time match what he produced last December at the 2022 Queensland Championships.
Among the age group set, two notable Queensland Age Records bit the dust, with each formerly held by Olympic champions.
First, in the boys’ 50m breast for 13-year-olds, Southside’s Oscar Kolenbet raced his way to gold in a time of 31.00. That overtook the previous QLD record of 31.28 reigning 200m breast Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook put on the books as a 13-year-old in 2012.
Entering this meet, Kolenbet’s personal best rested at the 31.63 he logged at the Queensland Medal Shots Meet last November. The teen already dropped that down by .07 to notch a heats time of 31.56 before he landed on top of the podium with his 31.00 scorcher.
Olympia Pope followed suit in the girls’ 14-year-old 50m breaststroke race. The Somerset teen notched a winning effort of 32.71, surpassing the previous Queensland Age Record of 32.85 Leisel Jones posted as a 13-year-old over 20 years ago in 2000.
As for Pope, her career-best before this meet rested at the 33.29 she produced in 2021. She shaved .20 off of that result for a field-leading 33.09 in the heats before ultimately taking gold in 32.71.
Pope is already the Australian Record holder in the girls’ 13-year-old 200m breaststroke event. She posted a time of 2:31.71 in April 2022 to become the fastest Aussie ever at that age.
While SA doesn’t track national age records in the 50 strokes that swim by Kolenbet seems to be the fastest 13 year old nationally as well.
SA has lists of the top 10 times (all time) for each age group from 13s up to 18s on its website (LC & SC).The 13 year old boys’ record for 50 breast (LC) was ZSC – 31.28 in 2012. So, Kolenbet’s time of 31.00 is the new Australian age record for 13 year old boys.
How did I not even know this event was happening?
Well this is good news. God knows Australia could really use some great sprint breaststrokers. They should be ready in time for LA/Brissie
It was listed on the QLD Swimming website here: https://qld.swimming.org.au/events
IF they stay in the sport !!!
Certainly take note of their names as prospects to look out on but the annual turnover with age groupers so often sees recordbreakers/setters out of the sport the following year.
Yes, can’t help but think retention rates are higher in the US, or they simply have far more prospects due to scale.
But it means getting sporting scholarships to universities, such things are lacking here, though we have more manageable tuition so YMMV. Though from my experience especially in more regional areas, sporting prospects abandon pretty early due to a lack of clear pathways.
Whilst collegiate swimming, often with accompanying scholarships, is clearly a significant incentive; the exponentially larger population to draw from is almost certainly the single most important factor.
It’s both. They have 13x as many swimmers to choose from, and the ones that do show promise at an early age have significant incentives to continue.
For Australians, basically unless there’s a high chance that you’re going to be an Oympian, there is zero benefit to pursuing swimming, and it’s a massive time and resource commitment.