THREE of the region’s brightest swimming prospects have returned from the Victorian State Swimming Championships with plenty of new personal bests and five medals.
Traralgon Swimming Club swimmers Olivia King, 15, Harliai Curthoys-Davies, 12, and Jun Kim, 12, trained hard together before heading to the championships in Melbourne recently, with all three returning smiling about their efforts.
Harliai returned to Swan Hill with five medals, scoring one gold, one silver and three bronze medallions, cementing herself as one of the best regional swimmers in the state.
The golden run came with three of her good mates, when the team of four scored the upset win in the 12-years girls’ medley event.
“The most exciting was to win with the three other girls, they are all good friends,” Harliai told The Guardian.
“It is awesome winning with them and it was a good event, great fun and I look forward to it next year.
“I was pretty happy with how I did. I got a few PBs (personal bests) and I was really excited.”
Picking up four other medals, the 12-year-old took a silver from the 100 metre backstroke event, and bronze medals in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle events.
When Olivia left the water, the young swimmer had beaten her own personal bests as she continues to aim for a national time.
The eldest of the swimmers showed class in her 50m freestyle heat, smashing her opponents to qualify for the final.
She went on to finish eighth with a time of 28.12 seconds, just 0.02 seconds away from the 15-years girls’ National Age Championship qualifying time.
Olivia said she was really excited by the improvement she showed in the event.
“It was my first big event. It was exciting but very different to what I was expecting,” she said.
“I got all personal bests … I suppose that is all that counts, beating yourself at something like that (the event).
“I am starting small and seeing what I can get in the future. I am aiming for a national time.”
Jun also continued his improvement in the water, earning himself a spot in the club’s relay side for the Country Swimming Championships in January.
Jumping out of the water, Jun said he was not overwhelmed by the occasion, making his State Championships debut.
“It was my first big event and I think I did pretty good, it was really exciting for me,” he said.
“It is a good start and I think I can improve and go on to bigger things.
“I have been swimming for about five years, I got some personal bests and it is really exciting.”
