Thorpe special guest at New Zealand swim celebrations

Australia’s greatest swimmer, Ian Thorpe will be the special guest at next week’s State Insurance New Zealand Open Swimming Championships in Waitakere City.

Thorpe will attend the final day of the championships on Friday April 9 and will be the starter for the skins event the following day which involves a number of New Zealand’s swimming greats.

Included are Olympic medallists Danyon Loader, Anthony Mosse, Paul Kingsman and Jean Stewart and world championships long and short course medallists Anna Simcic-Forrest, Trent Bray and Gary Hurring.

The championships also double as the official Commonwealth Games Trials, where swimmers must better the stiff qualifying standards in the final to earn nomination for New Delhi.

New Zealand Swimming is also hosting the first ever State Insurance New Zealand Swimming Awards on the Saturday evening, which Thorpe will also attend.

The Australian legend won five Olympic gold medals, three silver and a bronze at Sydney and Athens, the most by any Australian. Thorpe, who retired in 2006, was the first person to win six gold medals in one world championship, on his way to 11 gold medals. He was also the first person to be named world swimmer of the year four times.

“We are thrilled that Ian Thorpe has agreed to come to the championships,” said Swimming New Zealand CEO Mike Byrne. “The championships are an important occasion for us as they are also our Commonwealth Games Trials, and with our own legends relay for charity and inaugural awards evening, it is quite a week.

“So there’s no-one more fitting to be here to support swimming in New Zealand than one of the world’s greatest swimmers and the best Australian swimmer of all time.

“We are staging a special event on Saturday 10 April with a skins event for our leading swimmers and our legends relay for charity in which we have attracted back many of our greatest swimmers who are all playing their part to raise funds for a range of charities.

 Jean Stewart is the official starter for this race. The State Insurance New Zealand Open Championships start next Monday at West Wave Aquatic Centre in Waitakere City through to Friday with heats from 9am and finals from 6pm.

The skins meet starts at 10am on Saturday 10 April and the legends relay at 10.55am with fans able to meet the former greats and the swimmers who will gain nomination for the Commonwealth Games, after the relays.

Fans can also meet the former greats each day of the championships in the education marquee.

Full details: swimmingnz.org.nz