Two NZ swimmers to finals in world youth champs
Two New Zealand swimmers have qualified for finals on the second day of the inaugural Fina world youth championships in Brazil.
Auckland’s Kurt Bassett and Southland’s Natalie Wiegersma will compete in the final of the 100m backstroke tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro.
Bassett, 16, set a new national age group record in clocking 57.68s to finish third in his semifinal and sixth fastest overall to qualify for the final. The Mt Eden club swimmer clipped 1/10th of a second off the nine-year-old national age group record held by Ross Dunwoody.
Wiegersma, 16, was second in her semifinal and second fastest overall in the 100m backstroke. She clocked 1:03.35 for a personal best and only 6/100th outside the New Zealand age group mark.
Gisborne team-mate Emily Thomas just missed out on a place in the final, finishing ninth fastest overall.
Bassett’s Mt Eden clubmate Orinoco Faamausili-Banse-Prince has made it through to the semifinal of the 50m freestyle. The 16-year-old clocked 23.87s to be fifth fastest and was just 3/100th of a second outside the national age group record.
Raumati’s Shane Patience took two seconds off his previous best but did not advance in the heats of the 400m freestyle.
Day 2 New Zealand results:
Semifinals:
100m backstroke: Kurt Bassett (Mt Eden) 57.68, 6th (NZ Age Record).
100m backstroke: Natalie Wiegersma (Southland) 1:03.35, 2; Emily Thomas (Comet, Gisborne) 1:04.65, 9.
Heats:
400m freestyle: Shane Patience (Raumati) 4:05.59, 16; Kane Radford (Russell Athletic, Rotorua) 4:08.81, 22.
100m freestyle: Penelope Marshall (Greerton, BOP) 59.59, 28.
50m freestyle: Orinoco Faamausili-Banse-Prince (Mt Eden) 23.87, 5.
