Records Galore as George, Smith & Crawford Shine on Night Four

dale493
29 minutes ago
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Day Four Wrap - 2025 NZ Short Course Swimming Championships

It was an action packed fourth day of racing at the 2025 NZ Short Course Swimming Championships with a host of records falling across both the heats and finals session.

The women’s 200m butterfly final kicked off the evening session. Esme Paterson (Neptune & Swim Dunedin) found her rhythm early to race ahead of the field and finish in an impressive 2:11.39. Caitlin Deans (Neptune & Swim Dunedin) took second place, Deotille Videau (Tahiti) took the visitor bronze while Xanthe Miller (United) won the Kiwi bronze.

The men’s 200m butterfly was a tight race. Lochlainn O'Connor (Matamata) and Daniel Kregting (Roskill) pulled clear by the halfway point and were neck and neck into the final turn. O’Connor produced a strong underwater to edge ahead and hold on for the win in 1:58.41. Kregting settled for silver, while Nemanja Markovic (North Shore) secured bronze.

One of the most anticipated races of the evening was the women’s 50m backstroke final. Savannah-Eve Martin (Coast) broke the New Zealand record in her heat and got off to a strong start in the final, turning level with fellow Aquablack Amber George (Coast). George then surged ahead with a textbook underwater to claim gold and set a new national record in 26.60. Martin took silver, with Australian Sarah Bennett getting the visitor bronze and Rylee McBride (Wharenui) securing the Kiwi bronze.

“It feels really good, I’m so happy with that, especially because I wasn’t pleased with how I swam this morning,” said George. “I’ve been really working on that underwater so to finish with a bang like that is awesome.”

In the women’s 50m backstroke multi-class, Lili-Fox Mason (Wharenui) added another national title to her haul with a winning time of 35.12. Emily Mullany (Dannevirke) and Melissa Donoghue (Hamilton Aquatics) rounded out the podium. Charlotte Murphy (Aquagym) also had a great swim, setting a S6 record in 55.71.

The men’s 50m backstroke produced the tightest finish of the night. Cameron Gray (United) went stroke for stroke with Australian visitor Alex Quach, with the New Zealander edging ahead by just 0.02s to win in 23.93. Jasper Cornish (Coast) claimed the Kiwi silver, while Bruce Shen (Phoenix Aquatics) broke the 16 years NZ age record with 24.47 to secure the Kiwi bronze.

The men’s 50m backstroke multi-class title went to Jole Watkins (Pukekohe), who powered to victory in 29.94. David Beck (Club 37) and teammate James Haydon (Club 37) completed the podium. Rawiri Tristram-Brown (Otaki Titans) also executed a great swim, setting a S6 16/U NZ record in 46.52.

It was another exciting race in the women’s 100m breaststroke. Rebecca Meder (North Shore) stormed home in 1:04.78 for the win and claim the visitor gold. Brearna Crawford (Waitakere) also showed her pace to touch the wall in second, winning the Kiwi gold and breaking the NZ record in 1:06.54. Monique Wieruszowski (North Shore) won the Kiwi silver and equalled her 18yrs NZ age record and the previous open record in a time of 1:06.60, which she set in the heats earlier in the day. Zyleika Pratt-Smith (Coast) rounded out the Kiwi podium.

“It was a close one, and close racing is my favourite,” said Crawford. “I spent a bit of time in the States and that taught me how to finish races which really paid off tonight.”

The women’s 100m breaststroke multi-class was won comfortably by Emily Mullany (Dannevirke) in 1:35.02. Charlotte Rozen (Wharenui) placed second, clocking a SB18 NZ record in 2:10.14. Charlotte Murphy took the Kiwi bronze.

Hara Hughes (Coast) was just pipped for the race win in the men’s 100m breaststroke. Hughes was first into the last 25m but Australian visitor Harrison Biddell executed a great underwater to surface in the lead and touch the wall first in 1:00.22. Hughes took the Kiwi gold, with Rylind Wheeler (North Canterbury) picking up silver and Joseph Reiher (Porirua City Aquatics) bronze.

Daniel Smith (Pukekohe) came out firing in the men’s 100m breaststroke multi-class, winning in 1:06.53 and setting a SB19 New Zealand record. Ian Chen (St Pauls) placed second with James Haydon (Club 37) third.

The women’s 200m freestyle was the most stacked event of the evening with four Aquablacks taking to the water. Teammates Chelsey Edwards (North Shore) and Erika Fairweather (North Shore) were locked in a battle over the first hundred before Fairweather showed her class to pull away and take the national title in 1:54.25. Caitlin Deans (Neptune & Swim Dunedin) won the silver, sneaking in ahead of Edwards who won bronze.

In the women’s 100m freestyle multi-class final, Chloe Gladwin (Whakatane) improved on her heat time to clock 1:04.38 and take the gold. Lili-Fox Mason won Kiwi silver and Emily Mullany the bronze.

The men’s 200m freestyle was one of the races of the night. Cameron Gray took an early lead but Lewis Clareburt (Club 37) showed his pedigree, pulling away over the last 50m to take the win in 1:43.39, just shy of his NZ record time. Gray won silver while Australian Oscar Kreutzberger took the visitor bronze and Kevin Zhang (Roskill) rounded out the Kiwi podium.

“It was a good little battle there with Cam. I knew he was going to go out fast so I tried to stay with him and keep enough in the tank to go over that last 75m,” said Clareburt. “I didn’t think I’d be that close to my record, so that’s pretty cool and definitely a good sign.”

The men’s 100m freestyle multi-class saw another record broken by Daniel Smith who clocked a new best in the S19 classification with a time of 54.26. The win is Smith’s seventh title this week. Jole Watkins placed second and Ian Chen third.

The 4 x 50m medley relays rounded out the night. Coast A were in a class of their own in the women’s competition, finishing just outside the national record to win comfortably in 1:48.69. North Shore A secured the silver, while Phoenix Aquatics snuck in for bronze.

The men’s final was full of drama with the lead see-sawing between Coast A and Swimming New South Wales. The Australian visitors took the lead in the last leg, touching the wall first in 1:36.96. Coast A took the Kiwi gold in 1:37.54, United A took silver and Coast B the bronze.

There were many other strong performances across the age groups across the morning. We have acknowledged the record-breaking performances from the morning below:

Chloe Gladwin - women's 200m butterfly multi-class (2:45.68) - S19 NZ record
Savannah-Eve Martin - women's 50m backstroke (26.73) - NZ record
Milan Glintmeyer (Coast) - women's 50m backstroke (27.43) - 17 years NZ age record
Melissa Donoghue - women's 50m backstroke multi-class (53.33) - S18 NZ record
Bruce Shen - men's 50m backstroke (24.79) - 16 years NZ age record
Ashmit Danney (Te Arawa) - men's 50m backstroke (1:40.11) - S3 16/U NZ age record
Jole Watkins - men's 50m backstroke multi-class (29.81) - S19 NZ open & 16/U age record
Monique Wieruszowski - women's 100m breaststroke (1:06.60) - NZ open & 18 years NZ age record
Grayson Coulter (North Shore) - men's 200m freestyle (1:49.18) - 13 years NZ age record
Daniel Smith - men's 100m freestyle multi-class (55.31) - S19 NZ record

More than 700 athletes from around the country are swimming at these championships at the Sir Owen G Glenn Aquatic Centre on Auckland’s North Shore. Age group medals are awarded from the morning session, with open medals awarded in the evening session.

Make sure you are following the Swimming NZ social media channels to stay up-to-date with the action across the week. There are plenty more exciting races to come that you won't want to miss.

All sessions of the event are being streamed live and free on the Swimming NZ YouTube channel.

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