It was another successful day of racing at the 2024 New Zealand Division II Competition, with our Otago athletes securing three podium finishes and producing an 85% PB rate for the day - with 17 personal best times from 20 swims. Well done to all our Otago athletes that raced today - let's keep up the phenomenal effort as we move into day three!

Billie Druett (Queenstown) got the podium finishes rolling early on in the day, contesting her timed final of the 1500m Freestyle in the morning session. It was an outstanding performance from Druett, lowering her entry time by 36 seconds to take second place in the Female 13 Years division. 

And the podium finishes continued as we moved into the evening session, with Finn Henderson (Queenstown) picking up third place in the Male 15 Years 200m Backstroke. It was a stellar swim for Henderson, recording two personal best times over the course of the day in the event to take nine seconds total off his entry time. With a time of 2:21.02, Finn went under the qualifying time for the New Zealand Short Course Championships later this year.

Sophie Wellington (Kiwi) continued her phenomenal form, taking another first place finish - this time in the Female 13 Years 200m Backstroke. Wellington flexed her backstroke skills, taking more than ten seconds off her entry time by recording two personal best times in the event over the course of the day. Not only did Sophie pick up the win, she also dipped under the 2:30 barrier for the first time, touching in 2:29.98 to smash the New Zealand Short Course Championships qualifying time by eight seconds.

Other large personal best times on day two include...

• Thomas Coney (Alexandra) managed a double PB in the 50m Butterfly across heats and finals, taking three tenths of a second off his best. He then went on to slahs more than three seconds off his best in the 100m Individual Medley
• Sophie Wellington (Kiwi) slashes almost a second off her previous best in the 50m Butterfly
• Evie Gilmour (Taieri) swiped more than half a second off her previous best in the 50m Butterfly, then backed it up with lowering her best time in the 100m Individual Medley by two seconds
• Eric Strachan (Oamaru) knocked two seconds off his best time in the 100m Individual Medley
• Keira Hughes (Taieri) took a second off her previous best in the 100m Individual Medley

The full list of personal best times can be found in the results summary below.

Podium Finishers on Day Two

Athletes that gained qualifying times for NZ Short Course Championships on Day Two
Note: Qualification based on age as at date for NZSC Championships

Day Two Results
Note: PBs noted are based on short course personal best times

Article added: Wednesday 08 May 2024