Absolute Insurance Short Course Swim Championships – Saturday heats

One of New Zealand’s most experienced swimmers stood up again on the last night of heats at the Absolute Insurance Short Course Swim Championships at Waitakere last tonight.

Helen Norfolk (North Shore) continued her outstanding meet when she went under the qualifying time for next year’s world short course championships in the 200m freestyle at West Wave Aquatics Centre.

Norfolk, 26, who broke the New Zealand record in the morning finals of the 400m freestyle, backed up when she topped qualifiers with an impressive swim in the 200m freestyle.

She clocked 1:57.96 to go under the world championship qualifying time by more than a second and was only 7/10ths outside Alison Fitch’s New Zealand record.

Norfolk has now qualified for three events at the world short course championships set for Manchester in April next year.

England-based Cameron Gibson topped qualifiers in the heats of the 50m freestyle, which promises to be a superb final tomorrow with the lanky North Shore swimmer, Mark Herring (West Auckland) and 17-year-old Orinoco Faamausili-Banse (Laser Mt Eden) all having held the New Zealand record in the past 12 months.

There were two close misses with North Shore teenager William Benson missing the qualifying mark in the 50m butterfly (during the 100m butterfly) by 4/100ths of a second and Callum Joll (Napier Aquahawks) by 5/100ths of a second in the 50m backstroke (during the 100m backstroke heats). Joll had some compensation with his time of 24.63s establishing a New Zealand record, pipping the previous mark held by Scott Talbot-Cameron.

Top qualifiers for tomorrow’s last session of finals include Charlotte Webby (Bell Block) 200m butterfly, Moss Burmester 100m butterfly, Annabelle Carey 50m breaststroke, Glenn Snyders 200m breaststroke, Camen Ooi (West Auckland Aquatics) in the 200m medley, Liz Coster (North Shore) in the 50m backstroke and Daniel Bell (West Auckland Aquatics) in the 100m backstroke.

The last day of finals is scheduled for 10am on Sunday.