Swimming stars continue to excel

GUN swimmer Benno Negri has been selected to represent Australia at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii in August, following several standout performances in the pool throughout the past 12 months.

Negri has taken out medals at a range of state and national championships, but his efforts at the most recent Georgina Hope Swimmers Foundation Australian Age Championships in Sydney have been his best yet, where he picked up five medals in the freestyle, backstroke and individual medley events.

The 15-year-old Victorian won two silver medals in the 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle, as well as three bronze medals in the 50m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

It’s a rare feat for Negri, considering the competitor he finished second to on most occasions – Kyle Chalmers – has been touted as the next big thing in Australian swimming, having already broken a number of national and international junior records.

Meanwhile, his younger brother Dante put in an equally remarkable performance at the national age tournament.

The 13-year-old followed in the footsteps of his older brother, joining a rare group of Jewish swimmers to have won a gold medal at the event.

Dante was too good for his opposition in the 100m butterfly, winning in a time of 58.55s, almost two seconds quicker than the next best. It comes after Benno picked up a gold medal in the 200m backstroke event in 2012.

The two Negri brothers then joined together for the MLC Aquatic team that finished in sixth spot in the boys 16 and under 4x100m freestyle relay.

Other junior Jewish swimmers that took part at the championships included Melburnians Jordan Hazan, who finished sixth in under-14 200m backstroke final, and Rodney Chizik, as well as Sydneysiders Josh Zwi, Kyron Israelsohn, Josh Blumberg and Zac Freuden.

ASHLEY SHENKER

Photo: Sporting Images

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