The huge summer of swimming continues this weekend as the 2023 Victorian Open LC Championships, incorporating Round 1 of the Citi Para Swimming World Series, kick off on Friday 17 February. With a star-studded line up of local and international swimmers, you won’t want to miss a second of the action!
Fresh from the recent National Event Camp on the Gold Coast, 40 members of the Australian Dolphins Swim Team will take to the pool for the 3-day event. But it’s not just the locals that will be making splash. Swimmers from close to 20 international federations will converge on MSAC, making it one of the broadest fields we’ve seen in recent years.
Triple Olympic Gold medallist Kaylee McKeown, siblings Brendon and Mikayla Smith, young gun Isaac Cooper and local hero Sam Williamson will headline the Open ranks.
The para swimming competition will be brimming with talent with the likes of Paralympic champions Col Pearse, Ashleigh McConnell, Ahmed Kelly and Brenden Hall.
Swimming Victoria Events Manager, Narelle Harding is looking forward to having the Citi Para World Swimming Series as part of the Victorian Championships.
“As we saw at the recent World Short Course Championships, the value of international competition here at home is significant and we’re sure all the athletes will be looking forward to performing in front of a passionate crowd.”
All athletes' results at each World Series edition are calculated using a standardised World Para Swimming points system via an online virtual competition platform. This ensures that the overall World Para Swimming World Series winner will be the best performing athlete over the duration of the series, meaning that every performance counts.
While the event provides an important platform for athletes to launch their 2023 campaign and the path to Paris 2024, it also creates an opportunity for classification for a number of up-and-coming athletes striving to make teams.
In addition, SV are introducing an exciting new event into the mix with our first para and able-bodied relay! Teams will comprise of two para swimmers and two able bodied swimmers who will go head to head in the mixed 4x100m Freestyle, timed final event.
We are super excited to see Paralympian Col Pearse (S10) headline the relay, teaming up with Liam England (S9) and 2 able-bodied swimmers from Nunawading.
If you can’t make it to MSAC, we’ve got you covered. Catch all the action live and free on Kayo Freebies! Watch it here.
For more information on the 2023 Victorian Open LC Championships, click here.
