New Zealand swimmers make their mark in Europe

Cameron Gibson was in the records while fellow New Zealand swimmers Dean Kent and Moss Burmester were on the podium in major European meets today.

Gibson broke the long standing New Zealand 100m freestyle record in winning the British University Championships in Sheffield. He broke the 1998 mark held by Trent Bray by 2/10ths of a second in winning the final.

North Shore swimmers Dean Kent and Moss Burmester finished second and third respectively in finals at the FINA World Cup meet in Berlin with strong performances, both under the qualifying mark for next year's world short course championships.

Gibson, studying at Bath University, broke Bray’s record by just 3/100ths of a second in the heats and won the final in 48.50s to add to his new national 50m freestyle record set yesterday.

The 2 metre tall swimmer also won the 100m backstroke title and led Bath to victory in the medley relay with a 22.09s stint for the 50m freestyle – and was awarded second best male swimmer of the meet.

His Kiwi and Bath teammate Zoe Baker, female swimmer of the meet after her national record in winning the 50m breaststroke, took out the 50m butterfly in 27.46s and set the second fastest New Zealand time ever in clocking 1:09.08 for the 100m breaststroke.

With no 50m breaststroke on the Olympic schedule, Baker will need to qualify in the 100m breaststroke if she wants to secure a spot in the team for Beijing.

Te Rina Taite, the third New Zealander training at Bath University, was second in the 100m freestyle in 55.14s.

Kent continued his outstanding form to finish second in the final of the 200m individual medley in the Berlin World Cup, clocking 1:57.79s in a stunning race won in world record time by Brazil’s Thiago Pereira.

Burmester placed third in the final of the 100m butterfly in a slick 52.34. He was fourth fastest qualifier behind team mate Corney Swanepoel who placed sixth in the final to complete a top workout for the kiwis, who all gained significant FINA ranking points at the top European meets.

The Wellington pair of Steven Kent and Tash Hind both enjoyed strong performances in the heats of the 200m freestyle but did not advance to the finals.

The New Zealanders head home tomorrow to prepare for the Absolute Insurance New Zealand Short Course Championships at Waitakere from 13-16 December, which are the qualifying trials for the World Championships.

Results, FINA World Cup, Berlin:
100m butterfly: Milorad Cavic (SBR) 51.07, 1; Andrew Lauterstein (AUS) 51.26, 2; Moss Burmester (NZL) 52.34, 3. Other New Zealanders: Corney Swanepoel 52.63, 6.
200m individual medley: Thiago Pereira (BRA) 1:53.14, 1 (World Record); Dean Kent (NZL) 1:57.79, 2; Vytantas Janusaitis (LTU) 1:58.18, 3.

Heats:
100m butterfly: Swanepoel 52.75, 3; Burmester 52.98, 4.
200m medley: Kent 1:59.67, 1.
200m freestyle: Steven Kent 1:53.61, 38. Tash Hind 2:03.40, 17