More than 200 medals from two events
The Raumati Raptors have brought back 201 medals from two meets in the lower North Island, their best hauls at each event.
The team won a record 90 medals at the Wellington Long Course Swimming Championships last month, then followed it up with 111 medals at the Manawatu Age Group Championships earlier this month.
The Raptors finished second in Wellington, about 400 points ahead of third-placed Karori Pirates, but well behind runaway winners Capital Swim Club based in Wellington.
Raptors coach Jon Winter said the medal haul was about double what they had earned at the meet in the past.
He said the success came down to having a fierce attitude.
‘‘All the outcomes are irrelevant unless they followed the theme for the meet, which was being brave, aggressive and tough.
‘‘Medals and personal best times are fantastic, but having a real battle and coming fourth is still a great outcome.
‘‘We could have gone to that meet and got no medals, but if they acted as if they had I would still have been very proud of them.’’
Kapiti swimmers won 34 gold, 27 silver and 29 bronze in Wellington.
Hannah Huria, 11, and Noah Ireland-Spicer, 9, won their agegroup titles, and half the team’s gold medal haul between them.
Stevie Shipman, 14, Tommie Milne, 15, Robin Shen, 14, Chrystel Neilson, 23, and Rebecca Moynihan, 18, were picked for the All Stars zonal team for the Wellington and Manawatu region that competed last weekend in Auckland.
It is the first time five Raptors have made it to the squad.
The team won 48 gold, 35 silver and 28 bronze at the Manawatu Age Group Champs.
Winter said many swimmers who fell just outside the medals in Wellington, swam well to make sure they were on the podium in Palmerston North.
The club’s next event is the Manawatu open champs at the end of the month.
Currently, Raptors swimmers are training in Otaki and Waikanae, as the Coastlands Aquatic Centre main pool undergoes repairs.