With the conclusion of the Georgina Hope Foundation Age Championships, Australia has named 47 swimmers to its elite junior international rosters for this summer’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships, Youth Olympic Games and Oceania Championships. Powerhouse swimming state Queensland leads the number of athletes selected to the squads with 23, followed by New South Wales, Victoria, West Australia and South Australia.
Of the body of talent set to represent the nation this summer, High Performance Pathways Manager Jamie Salter stated,“The quality of the racing was excellent. It’s great the see the emergence of new clubs and programs with athletes who are performing against the more established clubs. We’ve really encouraged the messages about improving the skill level of our swimmers, not just a focus on fast times, and it’s great the see these really improving.”
Notable names among those selected include Chloe Gubecka, 3rd place finisher in the women’s 10k open water race at the 2017 Australian National Championships, versatile 2:10.51 200 flyer/1:58.91 200 freestyler Michaela Ryan and national junior record holder multiple times over, Thomas Hauck.
Also of note is the fact that 4th place finisher in the women’s 200m backstroke at last year’s senior World Championships, Queenslander Kaylee McKeown, will be competing at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
Australian team for the Junior Pan Pacific Championships (Suva, Fiji 23-27 August)
Lewis Blackburn (NSW), Ashton Brinkworth (WA), Shaun Champion (NSW), Kayla Costa (VIC), Jack Edie (NSW), Jacinta Essam (NSW), Jenna Forrester (QLD), Chloe Gubecka (QLD), Silas Harris (VIC), Ty Hartwell (QLD), Thomas Hauck (QLD), Chelsea Hodges (QLD), Joseph Jackson (QLD), Tara Kinder (VIC), Eliza King (QLD), Se-Bom Lee (NSW), Angus McDonald (NSW), Thomas Neill (QLD), Max Osborn (QLD), Lani Pallister (QLD), Thomas Pearson (VIC), Georgia Powell (QLD), Natasha Ramsden (NSW), Michaela Ryan (QLD), Emma Siddle (QLD), Brendon Smith (VIC), Kara Svenson (QLD), Stuart Swinburn (NSW), Tahlia Thornton (WA), Abbey Webb (QLD).
Team Leader: Jamie Salter
Head Coach: Glenn Beringen
Team Coaches: Janelle Pallister (QLD), Scott Talbot (VIC), Justin Bell (QLD), Sean Eels (QLD), Mitch Falvey (NSW), Bruce Vyvyan (NSW).
Australian team for the Youth Olympic Games (Buenos Aires, Argentina 6-8 October)
Lewis Blackburn (NSW), Ashton Brinkworth (WA), Joseph Jackson (QLD), Stuart Swinburn (NSW), Chelsea Hodges (QLD), Kaylee McKeown (QLD), Michaela Ryan (QLD), Abbey Webb (NSW).
Team Leader & Team Coach: Tracey Menzies
Team Coach: Jim Fowlie (NSW)
Australian team for Oceania Championships (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 24-29 June)
Josh Edward-Smith (WA), Aaron Mansfield (QLD), Oliver Nash (VIC), Finn O’Connor (NSW), Alex Quach (NSW), Marco Soesanta (VIC), Lachlan Colquhoun (QLD), Ethan Owens (SA), Kara Broadbridge (WA), Lauren Gastevich (WA), Rebecca Jacobson (QLD), Sharni Robinson (QLD), Phoebe Walker (QLD), Emily White (SA), Ebony Blackstone (QLD), Phoebe Hines (QLD).
Head Coach: Glenn Beringen
Team Coaches: Richard Sleight (QLD), Kenrick Monk (VIC), Michael Shaw (WA), Rob Van der Zant (QLD)