Ben Bloomer, Harrison Knott and Lilly Bloomer have raised the bar with exceptional swims at the South Australian Swimming Championships. Competing against swimmers from all over Australia and overseas, the swimmers finished the meet improving all their personal best times, and were unlucky not to feature in more finals due to the two visitors rule.
Ben Bloomer showed he has the potential to medal in future interstate competitions. A breaststroke specialist, Ben took out third overall in the 100m breaststroke heats in the amazing time of 1:34.21 and ninth in the 50m breaststroke heats 44.47 with a 1.13 second PB.
Lilly Bloomer had a sensational 200m breaststroke dropping 9.40 seconds and swimming 3:09.44 to finish 11th in her heat. Lilly is also close to breaking 40 seconds in the 50m breaststroke with a time of 40.04 seconds.
Harrison Knott smashed the forty second barrier in his 50m backstroke 37.38 and finished 10th in the 400m freestyle final wiping 3.44 seconds off his time with a strong 5:06.71. Harrison brought it home in all seven of his events and was unlucky not to feature in more finals.
Coach Emily Knott was proud of the swimmers performances, "after working hard in training over the Christmas holidays, Lilly, Ben and Harrison produced great results in SA. Ben's focus and determination saw him achieve amazing PB's. The work Lilly has put into her breaststroke over the last 12 months allowed her to drop her times significantly. Harrison showed great tenacity backing up for race after race each day and should be proud of the times he achieved in all of his races. It was a valuable experience for all 3 swimmers with lots of lessons learnt. I am excited to see what this year holds, not just for these three but for our whole squad."
Although out of the medals this meet, all three swimmers displayed grit and enthusiasm and will benefit from their time away.
The Alice Springs Swimming Club continues to train hard with the Northern Territory Championships less than six weeks away.
Results: Harrison Knott: 400m freestyle final 10th 5:06.71 (-3.44); 50m butterfly heat 19th 35.53 (-1.24); 100m freestyle heat 16th 1:08.98 (-1.55); 50m backstroke heat 11th 37.38 (-2.84); 200m freestyle heat 11th 2:27.45 (-1.13); 200m IM heat 10th 2:49.07 (-0.79); 50m freestyle heat 23rd 32.15 (-0.63). Ben Bloomer: 50m breaststroke heat 9th 44.47 (-1.13); 100m breaststroke heat 3rd 1:34.21 (-3.64); 100m breaststroke final DQ. Lilly Bloomer 50m breaststroke heat 13th 40.04 (-2.06); 100m breaststroke heat 18th 1:29.01 (-2.07); 200m breaststroke heats 11th 3:09.44 (-9.40).