Rasmussen and Lee qualify for Junior Pan Pacific Swimming

It proved a double-double for the nation’s best emerging swimmers on the opening day of the Mayfair Pools New Zealand Age Championships in Wellington.

Two swimmers – Mya Rasmussen and Yeonsu Lee - bettered the qualifying standard for selection to this year’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii while Josh Gilbert and Mario Koenigspeger set national age records at the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre.

Lee (North Shore), who competed in the world junior championships last year, was the first to reach the Junior Pan Pacific qualifying standard when she snuck under the qualifying time in the morning heats of the 200m freestyle, with a time of 2:04.26.

The 17 year old shaved off another 3/100ths of a second in the finals to win the national title for her age group and provide a confidence boost for the week ahead.

“I’m so stoked right now, doing it in the morning really put a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Lee said. “I’ve been aiming for this time the whole long course season so doing it’s pretty amazing and going faster tonight is really positive.

“I’m definitely aiming for some more Junior Pan Pacific qualifying times, I do want to make it in the 400m free and try and get close to it in some of my fly races.”

Rising 15 year old star Rasmussen (Kiwi West Aquatics) joined Lee in qualifying in the morning heats reaching the 400m individual medley standard with a time of 4:50.42.

She took out the national age group title in the evening to be just 0.1s slower than the heat.

Rasmussen was recently part of the New Zealand team to compete at the Australian age championships where she won the 400m individual medley event and was second in the 200m individual medley and 200m breaststroke.

“I’m feeling really happy after Australia so I’m just aiming to do those times again here or better them,” Rasmussen said.

“I’m really excited. I’ve wanted to do this for a while so to do it is really exciting and a big relief.”

Gilbert, 14, from the Stratford club, continued on his record-setting way in winning his age group in the 100m breaststroke.

Gilbert broke his own national mark in the 14 years 100m breaststroke in finishing second at the recent Australian age championships in 1:06.26. Today he nipped under that time by 0.1s to add to his record run.

Koenigspeger, from the powerful Howick Pakuranga club, won the 17-18 years final of the same event in 1:01.80 to take more than half a second off his own national mark. The 18-year-old, too old to qualify for the Junior Pan Pacs despite bettering the time, also won his age title in the 50m butterfly in 25.16s.

The tightest battle came in the 17-18 years 200m freestyle final with Queensland visitor Elliott Mitchell holding off the change from North Shore’s Wilrich Coetzee to win in 1:55.55 with the Kiwi 02.s behind.

In other swims, Michael Pickett, 13, from the Enterprise club in Gisborne, was a tick off the national record in winning his age group in the 50m butterfly in 27.42.

Howick Pakuranga’s Tyron Henry, 14, impressed with a sub two minute effort in winning the 200m freestyle while 15 year old Ruby Adsett (Napier Aquahawks) won her age group in the same event in 2:05.90, a time that would have place her fourth in the 17-18 group.

Parnell’s Mille MacDonald, 18, was the class of the women’s 100m breaststroke in 1:12 while junior world champion backstroker Gabrielle Fa’amausili (United, Auckland) 16, was fastest of all in the 50m butterfly in 27.93.

The competition runs until Friday with heats from 9am and finals from 6pm.

The event is live streamed for a subscription of $15 for the week. Live streaming is available here.

NZ Age Groups