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Developing Kiwis Prepping for Queensland

Team Announcement – 2024 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Championships


A team of 16 swimmers are preparing for the the 2024 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Championships. The team will be competing across seven days from Saturday 14 - Friday 20 December at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.


The Queensland Championships are regarded as one of the most challenging age group swimming competitions in the world, with this competition providing the squad a solid racing opportunity. The swimmers will have to be on top of their game in the heats and manage the soaring Brisbane temperatures to progress through to finals where only two visitors can qualify. With Japan and Singapore both sending some of their top age group swimmers, the team will be up against some fierce competition over the course of the seven day meet.


The team consists of swimmers from both the Olympic and Paralympic pathways, with swimmers selected from our National Age Programme (Olympic) and our developing Paralympic pathway to support their development. They will be guided by coaches who have been selected to support the swimmers for both pathways respectively. For the Olympic pathway, Michelle Gillies (North Shore) will be the head coach and joined by Aidan Withington-Edwards (Swim Rotorua). For the the Paralympic pathway, Cameron Leslie (Whangarei) will be the head coach and joined by Hannah Bates (Selwyn).


Some of the team have previous international experience, with Isabelle Gibson (Club 37) and Monique Wieruszowski (North Shore) both racing at the 2023 World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships last year. They will be joined by four swimmers making their second consecutive appearance at the Queensland Champs, in Jacob Humphries (North Shore), Charlotte Murphy (Aquagym), Orlando Hardie (Hamilton Aquatics & Waikato RPC) and James Haydon (Club 37).


Swimming NZ's Disability & Para Swimming Participation Manager, Cameron Leslie, will be supporting the swimmers in Brisbane across the week-long competition.

"Queensland Champs is a hard competition - long days, tough racing, and the temperature at that time of year in Brisbane adds another challenge for swimmers. This trip isn't all about performance though - like I said it has a number of factors that make it a challenge so for the Paralympic pathway in particular we will be working on our performance behaviours and leaning into the learning experience it will be. It's a great opportunity for all of our team to get quality racing in."

Good luck to our team and the swimmers, their coaches and support team as they finalise preparations before making the trip across the ditch. Please see the full team listed below.


You can learn more about the competition details by heading to their website.





Selected Teams


National Age Programme (Olympic Pathway)

Name
Club
Coach

Liam Curling

Coast

John Gatfield

Leo English

Swim Rotorua

Aidan Withington-Edwards

Isabelle Gibson

Club 37

Mitch Nairn

Orlando Hardie

Hamilton Aquatics & Waikato RPC

Mat Woofe

Jacob Humphries

North Shore

Graham Hill

Ariel Muchirahondo

Swim Rotorua

Aidan Withington-Edwards

Igor Russanov

Coast

John Gatfield

Soeren Wells

Wharenui

Carl Gordon

Monique Wieruszowski

North Shore

Graham Hill

Kevin Zhang

Roskill

Josh Munro

Name
Club
Role

Michelle Gillies

North Shore

Head Coach

Aidan Withington-Edwards

Swim Rotorua

Coach


Paralympic Pathway

Name
Club
Coach

Brooke Anderson

Vikings

Todd Mason

Jack Bugler

Blenheim

Shane Skehan

James Haydon

Club 37

Mitch Nairn

Charlotte Murphy

Aquagym

Emma Smith

Rylee Sayer

Matamata

Graeme Laing

Rawiri Tristram-Brown

Otaki Titans

Jon Winter

Name
Club
Role

Cameron Leslie

Whangarei

Head Coach

Hannah Bates

Selwyn

Coach


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