Record 10-strong NZ Team Ready to Race at World Junior Open Water Champs
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Competition Preview – 2026 World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships
A record ten New Zealand swimmers are set to race at the 2026 World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Santa Fe, Argentina – the largest team New Zealand has ever fielded at a junior open water championships.
Racing kicks off with the men's and women's 10km events on day one, getting underway at 12:00am NZST (midnight) on Friday 4 September.
Selection was based on results from the 2026 New Zealand Open Water Swimming Championships at Lake Taupō earlier this year, with swimmers also required to meet a 1500m pool qualifying standard.
Heading the team is Olivia Emmett (Swim Rotorua), fresh off multiple finals appearances at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Vancouver, Canada. Emmett will be joined by Olivia Bates (North Shore), with the pair having gone head-to-head over the 10km distance at the national championships. The two will line up together again in both the 10km and 3km Knock-Out Sprint events in Argentina.
Tyler Lushkott (North Shore) will also be one to watch. 16-year-old Lushkott will contest the 7.5km and 3km Knock-Out Sprint events, having notably pushed Aquablack Louis Clark all the way to the finish of the 5km at January's national championships in Taupō. He'll be looking to carry that form when competing against the world's best junior open water talent at these championships.
Ethan Stocks (Roskill) and Jack Barton (North Shore) will line up for the men's 10km distance, with Stocks doubling up in the 3km Knock-Out Sprint alongside Lushkott.
Bay of Plenty's Sheldon Hogan (Mount Maunganui) joins Lushkott in the men's 7.5km, while Maeve McDonnell (Howick Pakuranga) and Tegen Stewart (Nelson South) will race the women's 7.5km.
Dominic Barton (North Shore) and Amelia McEwan (Mount Maunganui) complete the team in the 5km – a promising sign for the future of open water swimming with two young New Zealanders experiencing international racing at this level.
The team are led by coaches Jana Wilkitzki (Howick Pakuranga) and Rance Gower-Winter (North Shore), with Alastair Bates supporting as team manager.
The championships run over four days, from 3–6 September. The men's and women's 10km events open the competition on day one, followed by the 7.5km and 5km on day two. Day three features the 3km Knock-Out Sprint. The final day will see New Zealand's relay teams race across the 16 & under and open categories.
World Aquatics will be livestreaming the championships on its YouTube channel. Follow Swimming NZ on social media for all the action as it happens from Santa Fe.
Daily schedule
Relay line-ups are to be confirmed.
*Progression through the Knock-Out Sprint event is subject to qualification
Day One – Friday 4 September, from 12:00am NZST
12:00am NZST – Men's 10km (J. Barton & Stocks)
3:00am NZST – Women's 10km (Bates & Emmett)
Day Two – Saturday 5 September, from 12:00am NZST
12:00am NZST – Men's 7.5km (Hogan & Lushkott)
2:30am NZST – Women's 7.5km (McDonnell & Stewart)
5:00am NZST – Men's 5km (D. Barton)
6:30am NZST – Women's 5km (McEwan)
Day Three – Sunday 6 September, from 1:00am NZST
1:00am NZST – Men's 3km Knock-Out Sprint heat (Lushkott & Stocks)
1:30am NZST – Men's 3km Knock-Out Sprint semi-final (Lushkott* & Stocks*)
1:45am NZST – Men's 3km Knock-Out Sprint final (Lushkott* & Stocks*)
3:00am NZST – Women's 3km Knock-Out Sprint heat (Bates & Emmett)
3:30am NZST – Women's 3km Knock-Out Sprint semi-final (Bates* & Emmett*)
3:45am NZST – Women's 3km Knock-Out Sprint final (Bates* & Emmett*)
Day Four – Monday 7 September, from 1:00am NZST
1:00am NZST – Mixed 16&U 4 x 1500m relay (McDonnell, McEwan, Lushkott, D. Barton)
2:30am NZST – Mixed Open 4 x 1500m relay (Bates, Emmett,
New Zealand team
Name | Club | Role |
Rance Gower-Winter | North Shore | Coach |
Jana Wilkitzki | Howick Pakuranga | Coach |
Alastair Bates | Team Manager |
Name | Club | Coach |
Jack Barton | North Shore | Michelle Gillies |
Olivia Bates | North Shore | Michelle Gillies |
Olivia Emmett | Swim Rotorua | Aidan Withington |
Ethan Stocks | Roskill | Josh Munro |
Sheldon Hogan | Mount Maunganui | Stan Teokotai-White |
Tyler Lushkott | North Shore | Michelle Gillies |
Maeve McDonnell | Howick Pakuranga | Rachel Palmer |
Tegen Stewart | Nelson South | Glen Findlay |
Dominic Barton | North Shore | Rance Gower-Winter |
Amelia McEwan | Mount Maunganui | Stan Teokotai-White |
Comments