Former Nayland College swim star Brooke Swan is returning to the scene of one her biggest triumphs next week.
And the Nelson South Swim Club standout knows it will much tougher this time at the New Zealand Short Course Championships on Auckland’s North Shore.
Last year’s U18 100m butterfly champion won’t be the centre of attention as fellow 18-year-old Zoe Pederson has emerged as the discipline’s new star.
Zoe became New Zealand’s latest junior world champion after winning the 50m fly final at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Bucharest last month.
The good news for Brooke is that Zoe is unlikely to contest the 100 fly where the Nelson South swimmer has made huge advances herself this year.
She achieved her goal of breaking the one-minute mark for the 100 at the Canterbury Swimming Champs with a time of 59.89 seconds.
“Brooke is one of only a handful of New Zealand swimmers who have done that,” enthuses her coach, Glen Findlay.
Brooke has been working for him at his Hampden Street Swim School, coaching the next wave of age grade swimmers.
“The job works in well with training,” declares Brooke, who came back even stronger after a break from competition earlier in the year. She headlines the six-strong Nelson South team which Glen will take to Mairangi Bay.
He says look out for 16-year-old Tegan Stewart too in the 800 and 1500m freestyle events.
Sisters Mia and Bella Cain-Townley are also in the team.
It completes a busy few weeks for Glen who took the New Zealand squad to Bangkok for the Virtus Games for competitors with intellectual impairment.
He reconnected with former Nelson swimmer Finn Russ who came to Nelson South five years ago.
“We taught Finn to swim, and he has gone on to set national records,” says Glen.
Now 18, and living in Christchurch, Finn competed in the S19 class for athletes with autism and won a bronze medal in a team relay in Bangkok.
The 12 Kiwi swimmers returned with two gold, four silver and six bronze medals, plus two world records.
“We also had 33 top eight finishes and 59 top 16. It was beyond our expectations as it was a challenging environment, given the heat,” enthuses Glen.
Virtus clashed with the South Island Swimming Champs in Blenheim where Glen’s top male charge William Seymour won seven titles in his final competition before going to university in San Diego.
“Without question, William is one of the greatest swimmers to ever come out of this region. To finish on that note was absolutely fantastic.
“He is an instinctive racer in the water and doesn’t need a lot of coaching input. I liken him to the champion racehorse Bone Crusher. He knew where the finish line was and got there,” declares Glen.
