London Olympian Yolane Kukla and Australia’s youngest Paralympic gold medallist Maddison Elliott will headline the 2013 Georgina Hope Swimming Foundation Australian Age Championships next month in Adelaide.
From Monday April 8 until Monday April 15, the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre in Marion will host over 1400 swimmers aged between 12 and 18, from all over Australia as they race for possible selection onto the Junior World Championship team and the opportunity to be crowned Australian Age Champion.
Now 17-years of age Kukla has already represented Australia on four senior teams after qualifying for the 2010 Commonwealth Games at just 14.
After taking home an Olympic gold medal from London for her heat swim in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, Kuklawill go in as favourite for the 17/18 years 50 and 100m freestyle as well as the 100m butterfly events.
Swimming competitively for the first time since the 2012 London Paralympics, 14-year-old Elliott – who could hold her own against much older and more experienced competitors – will set the standard in her Multi Class age group events.
Junior Pan Pacific representatives Ami Matsuo and Regan Leong will also be keen to add to their collection of Australian Age titles from 2012. The pair bagged three titles each last year with 16-year-old Matsuo taking a clean sweep of the 50, 100 and 200m freestyle events.
Following on from her impressive second place finish behind Alicia Coutts in the 100m freestyle at the recent NSW State Championships, and with a qualifying time nearly two seconds clear of her closest rival, Matsuo appears on track to successfully defend at least one of her freestyle titles.
Seventeen-year-old Leong won gold in the 50 and 100m freestyle as well as the 100m backstroke last year and will go into the 17/18 years 100 and 200m free as the one to beat.
With Adelaide set to host the 2013 EnergyAustralia Swimming Championships less than two weeks later, the quality of racing over the event should be high.
As the host state, South Australia will be represented by the highest number of competitors since the Australian Age Championships in 2009, with 80 swimmers from 11 clubs set to compete
Heats will start at 9:00am and finals from 6:00pm between April 8 and 13, with heats at 10:00am and finals from 4:00pm on April 14 and 15.
To purchase tickets to the 2013 Georgina Hope Swimmers Foundation Australian Age Championships and for more information, visit here https://beta.proticket.com.au/proticket/Events/Details/2312
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