Muchirahondo Betters Long-Standing Danyon Loader Record

Day Four Wrap - 2025 Apollo Projects NZ Age Group Swimming Championships

Day four of the 2025 Apollo Projects NZ Age Group Swimming Championships delivered another wave of standout performances, headlined by Swim Rotorua’s Ariel Muchirahondo who etched his name into history with a record-breaking swim in Hawke’s Bay. With national age group titles, world qualifying times, and long-standing records on the line, the atmosphere at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre was electric as swimmers from around the country continued to shine.

Results

Swim Rotorua emerging superstar Ariel Muchirahondo added to his remarkable performances this week with a stunning record on the fourth day of competition in Hawke’s Bay.

Buoyed by a tremendous atmosphere at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre, Muchirahondo, who produced three qualifying performances for the upcoming World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships earlier in the meet, added another in a stunning display.

The 16 year old won the 200m butterfly in 2:00.02 to be over two seconds inside the junior world’s qualifying mark, and broke the national record set by the great Danyon Loader in 1992, which was a springboard to his Olympic campaign that year.

Having just eclipsed a 33-year-old national record, Muchirahondo shared what the moment meant to him:

“I am hammered after that. I did my best and am happy with my result,” said Muchirahondo. “This definitely means a lot that I can get up, be fearless and swim faster than one of the greatest swimmers in New Zealand’s history. The second 100 was the key and made the difference.”

He returned to claim the 200m freestyle for 16 years in 1:52.65 later in the evening, just over one second outside the 16 years national age record.

In other 200m butterfly action, Alanna Rawson (St Peter’s) won the 14 years in 2:24.77 which complete the 50m/100m/200m treble at the meet, while Amelia-Rose Searle (North Shore) claimed the 13 years in 2:34.15.

The 15 years title went to Paige Conley (Whanganui) in a slick 2:25.57. Reflecting on her performance after the race, Conley said:

“I would have liked a couple of seconds faster but otherwise it was good. It certainly did not feel easy.”

The well-performed Ariella Riley (Hamilton Aquatics) prevailed in the 16 years in 2:21.30 to prosper in her big race schedule. She later added the 200m freestyle national age title to her medal haul, taking the win in 2:07.58 ahead of twin sister Indiana in third and silver medallist Charlotte Aburn.

In other 200m butterfly action, Australian visitor Henry McCarthy was first to the wall in the 13 years final, with Parnell’s Kento Wangford taking the title for the kiwis; Te Paki (Northwave) claimed the 14 years honours in 2:09.97, while Declan Broadfoot (Pirates) prospered in the second half of the 15 years race to overcome early leader Sebastian Seggers (United) to win in 2:11.00.

After adjusting his race plan from the heats to the final, Broadfoot was pleased with the result:

“All the hard work has paid off. This morning I went out hard in the heats and faded so I did the opposite in the final and it paid off.”

In the 100m breaststroke finals, Hope Wang (Phoenix Aquatics) continued her winning streak in 1:16.93 in the 13 years age group; while 50m winner Channelle Huang (North Shore) made it the double over clubmate India Vaughan in 1:14.55.

Neptune’s Lily McGrath also claimed the 50m/100m double in 15 years in 1:15.09. McGrath was all smiles after exceeding her expectations in the race, saying:

“I wasn’t expecting that at all. I really wanted to hit that 1:15 target though and the win was just a bonus.”

Parnell’s Alyssa Wangford won the 16 years final to add to her 200m win, coming to the fore on the final 50m from lane one in 1:14.97.

Matamata’s Rylee Sayer clocked 1:46.15 to better her own national 16 years & under record in the SB7 classification, and even better, go under the World Para Swimming Championships qualifying mark by 0.8s.

There were some classy swims in the men’s 100m breaststroke finals. In the 13 years boys, Michael Yang (Phoenix Aquatics) went 1:07.32 to break his own national record by one second;  Rick Zhao (Howick Pakuranga) claimed the 14 years in 1:09.18; Danny Sun (United) went 1:08.09 to win the 15 years final while Rylind Wheeler (North Canterbury) took out the 16 years final in 1:06.44.

The multiclass honours went to Nathaniel Wood (Porirua) in 1:35.48.

The 200m freestyle action saw a tight battle between Hope Yang (Phoenix Aquatics) and Annalise Miller (Neptune) in the 13 years final, with Yang taking the win after claiming the 100m breaststroke earlier in the evening.

Tandia Fisher (Wharenui) prevailed in the 14 years age group in 2:08.70 in a photo finish, while Madeleine Wilson (SwimZone) added the 15 years honours in a close race with just 0.6s separating the top four, earning Wilson the 50m/100m/200m freestyle treble.

Quinn Pike (Hamilton Aquatics) claimed gold in the women’s multiclass 200m freestyle to bag a new national record in the S19 in 2:21.38, just 0.03s inside the old mark, while Papamoa’s Thomas Magill took the win in the men’s multiclass event.

Grayson Coulter (North Shore) dominated the 13 years 200m freestyle final in 1:56.44 after setting a new national age record in the heats session, while 400m winner Charlie Dickison (Nga Tai Tuatea a Taraika) took out the 14 years in 1:59.65. In 15 years final, Leo English (Swim Rotorua), the 1500m winner, used his endurance to come home over early leader Liam Curling (Coast) in 1:56.10.

English credited the close competition for pushing him to a strong performance, saying:

“If I didn’t have Liam to push me early, I would not have got that time. I am not much of a sprinter so I am happy to take that one. I thought he had me with his speed.”

In the 4x100m freestyle relay action, the winners were Wharenui (women 13-14 years), North Shore (men 13-14 years), United (women 16 years and under) and Coast (men 16 years and under).

Day Five Overview - Thursday 17 April

Heats livestream coverage from 8.25am

Finals livestream coverage from 4.50pm

• 200m individual medley

• 50m backstroke

• 1500m freestyle (girls)

• 800m freestyle (boys

• 4 x 50m freestyle relay (mixed)

• 4 x 50m medley relay (mixed)

You can stay up-to-date across the championships across our social and digital channels of Facebook, Instagram, our website and via the livestream brought to you by Whakaata Maori. There are limited tickets still available for some sessions if you'd like to have the best seat in the house and watch from poolside. Please find the useful links to some of these digital platforms below:

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Programme & Results

Team Selection Opportunities

In addition to aspiring for the national age title, some swimmers will be setting their eyes on achieving qualifying times for New Zealand teams selected for upcoming international competition later in the year. The championships offer opportunities for swimmers to qualify for are:

• 2025 Tri Series (Ballarat, Australia, from 7 - 12 July)

• 2025 World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships (Romania from 19 - 24 August)

• 2025 World Para Swimming Championships (Singapore from 21 - 27 September)

View Selection Criteria