Wunsch Wins Third Title At Swimming Champs

It was touch and go when NSW pair Olivia Wunsch and Jessica Cole hit the wall locked together in the opening event on Night Six of the 2023 Australian Age Swimming Championships on the Gold Coast tonight.

It came in the 16 years 100m butterfly with just 0.26 separating the pair and the close finishes just kept on coming.

Wunsch (Carlile, NSW), who is an NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder won her third title in 24 hours – taking out the 16-years 100m butterfly clocking 59.39 from Cole (Wests Illawarra, NSW) in 59.65 – both in personal best times.

With just 26 hundredths separating the pair, it set the scene for a series of cracking finishes as Australia’s finest Age groupers continue to battle it out for places on Australia’s 32-strong team for this year’s World Junior Championships in Israel in September.

Both girls swimming their way into the top 10 all-time fastest Australian 16-year-olds – a list that includes Olympians Stephanie Rice, Brianna Throssell and Jessica Schipper.

For Wunsch, it comes after her spectacular start to Age campaign start last night when she won the 200IM-50m freestyle double – the 50m freestyle in 24.85 – a time that would have seen her finish fifth in the Commonwealth Games and time only beaten by two other 16-year-old Australians – Cate Campbell and her London 2012 Olympic team mate Yolane Kukla.

The blanket finishes continued in the 18 years boys 50m freestyle with MLC Aquatic VIC’s getting the touch in 22.88 just 0.03 ahead of Tane Bidois (Knox Pymble, NSW) in 22.91 and Edward Somerville (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) 23.03.

Here was just 0.02 between Matthew Kim (SOPAC, NSW) and Randal Ingram (St Peters Western, QLD) in the 16 years boys 200m breaststroke with Kim, swimming in lane eight getting the touch over Ingram in lane four, 2:20.04 to 2:20.06 – Kim taking the lead at the 100m mark and holding on – just!

The girls 17 years 100m breaststrokers also put on a display with the ATC’s Isabella Johnson from the Cruiz club getting the touch in 1:09.69 ahead of Sophie Martin (Somerville House, QLD) 1:09.96  – just 0.27 between them.

Before St Leonard’s College Victoria’s Max Mangini out-touched Warringah Aquatic NSW’s Lachlan Davies by just 0.06 in the boys 14 years 50m butterfly – Magnini claiming the win in 25.75 with Davies touching in 25.81.

And to complete the night of the blanket finish Jack Morrow (Propulsion, VIC) and Kai Edwards (St Peters Western, QLD) put on a show in the 400m freestyle for 1`5 year old boys – Morrow getting the nod by just 0.04 – with his time of 4:04.38 to Gilbert’s 4:04.42.

There was also a ding dong battle in the final individual event of the night with St Peters Western’s training partners Benjamin Goedemans and Robert Thorpe putting on a stroke-for-stroke battle – Thorpe just 0.02 in front at the 800m but Goedemans pulling away to win in 15.27.75 to Thorpe’s 15.30.98.

While the Northern Territory’s teen sensation Macey Sheridan (Darwin, NT) made it four golds in four nights in the 13 years girls events – adding the 50m butterfly in 27.96 to her wins in the 100 and 200m backstrokes and 50m freestyle.

Article courtesy of Swimming Australia