After three years in the making, the Victorian Country Short Course Championships returned to the Ballarat Lifestyle and Aquatic Centre on 30-31 July.
It was fantastic to see the Championships back in the region after COVID restrictions forced the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 events.
The swimmers certainly rose to the occasion with 9 Individual Country Records and 7 Relay Country Records tumbling across two exciting days of competition.
Albury North Lavington’s Oscar Kreutzberger was on fire, claiming Gold in the Men’s 400m Freestyle (3:59.99) and the Men’s 400m IM in a new Country Record time of 4:35.51. He broke another two Country Records in the Men’s 200m IM (2:07.08) and the Boy’s 14-15 200m Freestyle (1:53.69) and also took home 3 Silver medals and a Bronze. An impressive haul for the 15 year old!
In the female events, Nicole Briscoe from Geelong Swimming Club was a standout performer. She bagged a remarkable 6 Gold medals and 2 Silver, with wins in the Girls 16-17 Years 100m Breaststroke, 200m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly and the Women’s 400m Freestyle, 200m Backstroke and 400m IM.
A recent addition to the program in 2019, the relay events added some extra excitement to the Championships! Ballarat Gold lived up to their name in the 13 & under Mixed Relay events, not only finishing ahead of the pack but setting two new Country Records in the process. Traralgon dominated the 14 & over Mixed, with two Gold medals and Country Record in the Medley.
Geelong Swimming Club proved themselves as the country club to beat taking home the Robert (Bob) Carmichael Memorial Trophy and ending Traralgon’s 11 year winning streak. Geelong finished with a combined aggregate points score of 2301 ahead of Traralgon (1758), Ballarat Gold (1165), South Gippsland Bass (839) and Albury North Lavington (624).
For full results click here.
Swimming Victoria extends a huge thank you to the Midlands District Swimming Association and all its volunteers for hosting this wonderful event.
