2022 FINA World Short Course - Day Six
On the final day of competition at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), the New Zealand team continued their record-breaking week in both the Men’s and Women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay.
Emma Godwin (1:00.01) led off with the backstroke leg in tough conditions given she had just completed the 200m Backstroke heat minutes earlier. Helena Gasson proved her versatility in the breaststroke leg (1:06.77), before Hazel Ouwehand (1:00.01) and Rebecca Moynihan (54.15) brought it home to finish 7th in their heat and 13th overall. The girls completed their championships with another NZ Record by 1.83 seconds after a great week (4:00.92).
Zac Dell (52.19) kicked started the boys in the backstroke and Josh Gilbert continued his good breaststroke form (57.83). Cam Gray started to take water away from the Czech Republic in the butterfly leg (50.40) and Carter Swift was a rocket ship in the freestyle leg (46.24). Collectively, the team broke a long-standing NZ Record from 2008 by 0.47 seconds and completed their campaign in fine form (3:26.68).
Kiwis Finishing On A High
Caitlin Deans completed her outstanding week in Melbourne with a personal best by 1.17 seconds in the 200m Freestyle. Deans built throughout the race to finish 6th in her heat to drop under 1:58 for the first time (1:57.93) and claim 19th overall.
Carter Swift had a stellar final day with a personal best in the 200m Freestyle. Dropping under his entry time by 0.59 seconds, Carter was swiftly off the blocks on his way to 22ndoverall (1:44.88). Swift was crucial in the Men’s relay NZ Record later in the session, rounding his championships strongly.
Emma Godwin looked smooth in her preferred 200m Backstroke. She got away smartly from the start and was just outside her personal best to finish 7th in the heat and place 23rdoverall (2:07.91).
Kane Follows had to wait until the last day for his 200m Backstroke but showed he was ready to go with time that nearly equalled his personal best (1:53.11). Follows built through the halfway mark and finished well to touch 5th on the wall, before being elevated to 4th in his heat on the official results. Follows swim saw him place 14th overall.
Event Wrap
The New Zealand team completed a fantastic showing in the sporting capital of the world. There was a total of 22 individual personal bests during the championships to highlight the way the team performed on the big stage. There were 4 NZ Open Records and 4 NZ Age Records broken individually, as well as 12 NZ Records in relays across the 6 days. Erika Fairweather’s two silver medals saw New Zealand place 12th on the medal tally. Congratulations to the team on their performances in the 16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m). This week ensures an exciting year ahead in 2023 as the team builds toward Fukuoka and Paris in the coming years.
Day Five Results Summary
Caitlin Deans - 200m Freestyle - 1:57.93 - 19th
Carter Swift - 200m Freestyle - 1:44.88 - 22nd
Emma Godwin - 200m Backstroke - 2:07.91 - 23rd
Kane Follows - 200m Backstroke - 1:53.11 - 14th
Women's 4x100m Medley - 4:00.12 - 13th (NZ Record)
Men's 4x100m Medley - 3:26.68 - 10th (NZ Record)
