The Australian Dolphins swim team have wrapped up a historic campaign at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California. Claiming 15 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze medals for a tally of 35, finishing second only to host nation the United States, breaking a host of records along the way.
Over four days of intense competition, Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) athletes played a starring role, with squad members climbing the podium, posting strong results and gaining invaluable international experience alongside their senior teammates.
Newly crowned Commonwealth Games Champion Sam Williamson got the VIS campaign underway with a bronze medal in the men’s 100m breaststroke on day two, then backed it up with gold in the 50m breaststroke on day three, touching the wall in a championship record time of 26.36.
VIS-supported athletes William Petric, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Ella Ramsay and Tara Kinder each chased their own slice of Pan Pacs glory in the days that followed.
Petric claimed bronze in the 200m individual medley on day four, clocking 1:56.65 in a tight finish behind America’s Carson Foster and Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita.
In the 200m breaststroke, Stubblety-Cook produced a gutsy swim to take gold in 2:08.09, edging out America’s Josh Matheny by two tenths of a second. Turning in seventh place at the 50m mark, Stubblety-Cook surged through the field to fourth at 150m mark before unleashing the fastest final lap in the field to snatch victory.
Ramsay helped secure silver for Australia in the women’s 4x100m medley relay alongside Iona Anderson (WAIS), Alex Perkins (QAS) and Meg Harris (QAS), before Williamson returned to the podium for a third time, claiming silver in the men’s 4x100m medley relay with Stuart Swinburn (NSWIS), Matt Temple (SASI) and Harrison Turner (QAS).
Kinder rounded out a strong showing for the VIS in the individual medley events, battling a strong field to finish fifth in the 200m individual medley.
VIS open water swimmer Nicholas Sloman also took to the open water, competing in the 10km event. Sloman finished in ninth place, adding further breadth to the VIS contribution across the campaign.
Behind the scenes, VIS Sports Physiologist Lachlan Mitchell played his part in the campaign, supporting the Dolphins as part of the team’s staging camp in the lead-up to competition.
A testament of the depth of expertise VIS brings to Australia’s international campaigns, both on deck and behind the blocks.
