WANGARATTA Amateur Swimming Club made a big splash at the Australian Country Swimming Championships last weekend, taking home 29 medals.

As the premier swimming event for swimmers from regional or remote areas of Australia, 60 clubs from all parts of the country converged atthe Parap Pool in Darwin to compete against the best country swimmers in Australia over four thrilling days.

Victorian swimmers qualified for the event through the State Short Course Championships held in Wangaratta back in August.

The Wangaratta club had 14 swimmers compete in Darwin from Saturday, September 30 to Tuesday, October 3, finishing with a total of six gold medals, 10 silver and 13 bronze in a widely successful national meet for the club.

Gold medalists included Nina Fortaliza (100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke), Liam Kidgell (200m backstroke) and Gabe Watson (100m breaststroke, 50m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke) who took home eight medals in total.

Club president Allison Allen said it was an electrifying week for the club and was extremely proud of her swimmers who shone on the national stage.

“Even when we weren’t achieving medals we were swimming really good times,” she said.

“It was really good, because it’s the start of the long course season and a lot of our swimmers have already achieved the qualifying times for state meets coming up.

“We went up for a week so we got some training sessions in up at Nightcliff before the meet started and we also did some nice team bonding we went to the Mindil Markets and to the deck chair cinemas.

“It was a really great and friendly atmosphere at the meets; our swimmers met swimmers from all over Australia and Victoria so it’s just really good for them to meet those other swimmers and make friends.

“Hopefully now they see them at state championships or at nationals in the near future, it was a great experience.”

In a total of 238 events swam by members of the club, they were represented in finals in half of those events, with every swimmer recording at least two personal best times across their events and 120 PBs swam in total.

Swimmers will now shift their focus to the 50m pool, with training already beginning for the long course season.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Harry Allen

20 events

12 finals

14 PBs

Bronze medals – 100m breaststroke, 50m breaststroke, 4x50m medley relay

New Victorian Age qualifying time – 100m freestyle

Ingrid Brettig

22 events

11 finals

14 PBs

Silver medals – 100m breaststroke, 50m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke

New Victorian Sprints qualifying time – 50m breaststroke

Alice Colson

22 events

13 finals

15 PBs

Silver medals – 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly

Bronze medals – 200m individual medley, 50m breaststroke, 200m freestyle

New Victorian Sprints qualifying time – 50m butterfly

New Victorian Age qualifying time – 100m freestyle

Maddison Craven

9 events

4 finals

2 PBs

Nina Fortaliza

27 events

17 finals

15 PBs

Gold medals – 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke

Silver medal – 50m breaststroke

New Victorian Age qualifying times – 100m breaststroke, 50m freestyle, 200m breaststroke

New Victorian Sprints qualifying time – 50m butterfly

Sofia Gallo

16 events

9 finals

11 PBs

Liam Kidgell

25 events

16 finals

15 PBs

Gold medal – 200m backstroke

Bronze medal – 4x50m medley relay

New Victorian Age qualifying time – 100m backstroke

New Victorian country qualifying times – 200m individual medley, 100m butterfly

Mackenzie Lawford

10 events

4 finals

7 PBs

New Victorian country time – 50m freestyle

Jemima Pizzini

11 events

6 finals

3 PBs

Evelyn Selby

17 events

8 finals

10 PBs

New Victorian Country qualifying time – 100m butterfly

New Victorian Sprints qualifying time – 50m butterfly

Sadie Skewes

12 events

5 finals

5 PBs

Bronze medal – 50m butterfly

New Victorian Age qualifying time – 50m freestyle

Jasmin Thwaites

16 events

11 finals

3 PBs

Bronze medal – 50m backstroke

Gabe Watson

31 events

19 finals

6 PBs

Gold medals – 100m breaststroke, 50m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke

Silver medals – 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 50m butterfly, 200m backstroke,

Bronze medal – 4x50m medley relay

Aidan Thomson

20 events

12 finals

6 PBs