Anton Risch wins gold in record time
Warragul swimmer Anton Risch set a record time in winning gold in the under 12 breaststroke at the recent Victorian Sprint Championships.
The event was held across two days at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC), with Anton qualifying for the freestyle and breaststroke finals.
He swam a time of 35.04 seconds in the breaststroke to not only win the gold medal, but also break an ‘out of Gippsland’ record that has stood since 2002.
Anton finished 10th in the freestyle final.
One of 16 Warragul Water Warriors to qualify for the elite event, Anton’s sister Izzy also had a great swim. She placed fourth in the under 11 breaststroke, missing bronze by a mere 0.06 seconds.
The Warriors had been training hard in and out of the pool to gain qualifying times for the championships.
After having several weeks out of the pool due to a mountain bike accident, Jeremy Nielson made a comeback and qualified in the top 10 to swim in the final of the under 14 breaststroke. He finished fifth.
The championships capped a busy period for the Warriors, with swimmers across varying ages also competing in Leongatha, Geelong, Morwell and its home pool in Warragul.
Warragul also had 10 swimmers selected as the fastest for their age group to be part of the Gippsland team to compete at the Country 7-10 competition.
The Gippsland region is renowned for being the strongest in country Victoria, taking out the title for the past 24 years, and 2017 was no exception with Gippsland once again taking out the competition title.
The following Warragul swimmers were selected in the team: Poppy Barry, Riley Butters, Kade Cannon, Tarrant Cannon, Makaylen Di Sisto, Jesse Griffin, Thomas HalloranLavelle, Chloe Joiner, Nate Joiner, and Teà Vanschyndel.
Thirty-seven swimmers attended the club’s annual camp, where they competed at the Geelong Open with outstanding results.
The club co-hosted the first Gippsland Swimming Incorporated meet in the outdoor pool at Warragul, with more than 200 swimmers from across Gippsland competing.