Swanepoel, Stanley best of Kiwis in Oceania champs
The Australians sounded a warning in heats on the third morning of heats at the Oceania Swim Championships in Christchurch today.
Australians topped qualifiers in four of the six individual events on the programme this morning at the QEII Leisure Centre.
Beijing Olympian and defending champion Corney Swanepoel topped qualifiers in his favoured 100m butterfly heats, while his team-mate Moss Burmester, still struggling with illness, was pushed out of the A final by compatriot Daniel Bell.
North Shore’s Cameron Stanley produced a superb 2:01.96 to lead qualifiers in the 200m backstroke ahead of clubmate John Zulch.
Leading the Australians in heats today was James Stacey who edged out kiwi Glenn Snyders in the 50m breaststroke, Morgan-Lee Barnes pipped Olympian Lauren Boyle for top spot in the 400m freestyle, while the outstanding visitor Robert Hurley was fastest in the men’s 400m freestyle. Jessica Ash led an Australian trifecta in qualifying for the 100m butterfly.
There is a further session of the synchronised swimming this afternoon for the technical duet while tonight’s swimming finals start at 6.30pm with a focus on the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay where the New Zealand team is looking to improve their qualifying time for the Beijing Olympics.
