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Absolute Insurance World Championship Swim Trials - Day 5 Wrap

Absolute Insurance World Championship Swim Trials - Day 5 Wrap
16th December 2006

The North Shore pair of Moss Burmester and Helen Norfolk provided the highlights on an exciting final night of the Absolute Insurance world championship swim trials in Auckland tonight.

Norfolk, 25, became the seventh individual qualifier for the World Championships to be held in Melbourne in March.

Burmester, the Commonwealth Games gold medalist, set his second qualifying time for the world championships going faster than his morning heat to win in 1:56.89. This gives Burmester the fastest three 200m butterfly times ever.

The seven individuals – Dean Kent, Zoe Baker, Liz Coster, Hannah McLean, Annabelle Carey, Burmester and Norfolk will be joined by the men’s and women’s 100m medley relay and the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.

The team to be named tomorrow could be up to 17 if the national selectors utilize the Commonwealth Games times of freestyler Lauren Boyle. The West Auckland swimmer withdrew from the trials after suffering from a bronchial complaint, and the policy allows the selectors to take her best time set this year. That would qualify the 4x100m and 4x200m women’s freestyle relays.

Burmester was all class today, improving from his quiet start to the meet with two brilliant swims today in his key 200m butterfly event, admitting he needed to get his attitude right today.

Norfolk was rewarded for her move from the individual medley to freestyle when she clocked 2:00.93 in the 200m freestyle, half a second inside the qualifying mark.

She said it made up for a poor swim in the 400m freestyle where she had expected to qualify earlier in the meet.

Napier’s Callum Joll established a New Zealand record with his victory in the men’s 50m backstroke, clocking 26.20s, 3/100ths of a second inside the old mark held jointly by the North Shore pair of Cameron Gibson and Scott Talbot-Cameron.

North Shore’s Emma Banks held on in a frantic finish to win the 100m butterfly, while West Auckland Aquatics sprinter Mark Herring completed the double when he added the 100m title to the 50m he won earlier in he meet.

Coster edged her North Shore teammate McLean in the final of the 50m backstroke but the Commonwealth Games backstroke medalist revered that by stepping back into the pool 10 minutes later to win the 50m freestyle final from clubmates Alison Fitch and Coster.

North Shore’s Glenn Snyders had mixed feelings after winning his third breaststroke title of the championships in the 100m but his 1:03.39 winning time was outside the world championship qualifying time that he targeted.

Canterbury’s Annabelle Carey, who qualified for the world championships in the 100m last night, impressed in winning the 200m title for the first time, whipping more than six seconds off her previous best.

Dunedin 20-year-old Bryn Murphy (Waves) took out the 1500m freestyle in style after being pipped for the title by the slimmest of margins last year. Rotorua’s Kane Radford, the Oceania 10km open water champion, set a national age group record for 16 years, breaking Danyon Loader’s 1991 mark.

The powerful North Shore club won 20 individual titles with hosts West Auckland second with three wins.

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