BATTLE FROM THE BLOCKS Australian Swimming Championships
While many of the Mt Gambier Swim Club swimmers were eagerly watching their swimming idols compete last week at the Australian Swimming Championships on livestream TV, one of our local swimmers was fortunate enough to be invited to attend.
Lucy Dening participated at the recent Bio Island JX Clinic held on Sunday 22nd May at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre which was attended by members of the Australian Dolphins Swim Team and coaching staff. This included former Olympian and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist and coach Janelle (nee Elford) Pallister and Olympic representative in Tokyo 2020 Jenna Strauch.
Lucy was invited to attend due to earning Gold JX Achievement for 2021-2022 swimming season. The Bio Island JX program (for swimmers aged 9-13 years) recognises the performances of competitive swimmers based upon their times they swim at recognised swim meets over the season. The awards range from Blue to Bronze, Silver and Gold Standards.
As a JX Gold swimmer Lucy along with other participants were coached for a 1.5hr session working on diving, turns, finishes and stroke technique as well as a brief Q&A session. Lucy explained that she learnt a new routine for turns to save time in the pool as well as some drills to help improve stroke rate.
The experience concluded with complimentary tickets for the final night of the 2022 Australian Swimming Championships. “I really enjoyed seeing the world record too.” Lucy said, describing Ariarne Titmus in her record-breaking 400m Freestyle swim.