Weill makes waves at swimming nationals
Ashley Weill showed she can compete with the nation's best young swimmers by winning two bronze medals and posting several personal best times at last week's Australian Age Swimming Championships in Sydney.
ALL the early starts and hours put into training each week are paying off for Melbourne’s Ashley Weill, who showed she can compete with the nation’s best young swimmers by winning two bronze medals and posting several personal best (PB) times at last week’s Australian Age Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
The Victorian representative said confidence is the biggest thing she will take from coming third in the 16 girls’ 100m and 200m backstroke finals, having just missed out on making the finals in both events last year when competing in the 13-14 girls’ category.
“I came 11th and 13th last year, so going into it this time, my aim was to make the top 10 and the finals, and I was so happy I was able to do that – and get PBs too,” Weill said.
“This is the main competition we train for all year – I train 10 times a week in the gym and the pool – so I knew I had all the hard work behind me.
“I still wasn’t really looking for a medal at nationals though – so to have won two really does make me excited for the future, and really motivated to get back into training and think of what I am capable of doing next.”
Weill shaved just over two seconds off her seed time to secure second place in her 200m backstroke heat in 2:18.56, and then scored another PB in the final to come third in 2:17.18, behind runner-up Samantha Schlicht and winner Michaela Ryan (2:13.77)– who both competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Australian Swimming Trials.
In the 100m backstroke final, Weill posted a PB of 1:03.75 to touch the wall in third, just 0.49 seconds behind Schlicht – who also scored a PB – and winner Abigail Schoorl (1:03.17).
“The 100m is a bit of a splash and dash race where you put in all you’ve got from the start, while the 200m is more strategic,” Weill said.
“I’m probably stronger over the 200m distance, and I think doing some ocean swimming over the summer [Weill came first in the 5km race at the U16 Victorian Open Water Championships] helped me in terms of maintaining endurance.”
Weill also qualified for the freestyle 100m and 200m heats at the age nationals for the first time, finishing 24th and 34th.
Her next big event to prepare for will be the Pan Pac Australian Swimming Trials in July.
“That one, for me, will be really valuable race experience – it will be good just to see how it is at that level.
“In the meantime, there are lots of little things to work on at training – there’s plenty of room for improvement.”
Sydney’s Maya Murphy made the 100m backstroke final too, finishing sixth in 1:05.12.
Melbourne’s Dante Negri was part of the MLC A team which won silver in the 18 boys’ 4x100m medley relay final, Isabella Smorgon came 10th in the 18 girls’ 200m breaststroke, Jordan Hazan finished ninth in the 18 boys’ 200m backstroke, and fellow Victorians Jade Kausman and Jesse Nissen also swam in events.
Nissen’s best result was 11th in the 16 boys’ 100m backstroke heats, where he posted a PB time of 59.98 seconds. It was a massive improvement on his result of 20th place at last year’s championships.
Apart from Murphy, Jewish NSW team members who competed included Ariella Levy, Eliyah Malkin, Gabi Goodridge and Alon Pajor.
The Australian Age Championships is the highest level long course swimming competition in the nation for elite swimmers under 19 years of age.
SHANE DESIATNIK
comments