Queensland State Champs
The Sunshine State of Queensland is either the birthplace of or training destination for many of Australia’s greatest swimmers. It should therefore be no surprise that the annual QLD State Long Course Championships are a hotly contested battle for many elite swimmers. We have a big team of F-Teamers set to compete at this year’s Championships at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre that run from December 10 -16th.
The FINA World Short Course Championships (13-18 December) will partly coincide with the QLD States, however for some of our athletes it’s a matter of “why not both”. New Zealanders Zac Dell and Kane Follows will form part of a large NZ contingent travelling across the ditch, with the team being one of seventeen visiting nations competing in Queensland.
Dell is set to compete on Day 1 of the FINA Worlds in Melbourne in his favoured 100m Backstroke. His QLD States schedule will therefore be cut short after some relay fun and 100 Back practice on the opening two days. Follows, on other hand, will have time to contest both the 100m and 200m Backstroke in Brisbane before making his way down to Melbourne. Kane’s sole race at Worlds, the 200 Back, falls on the final day of competition.
Some of our Aussie icon F-Teamers in Brendon Smith, Mikayla Smith and Isaac Cooper will be out of action in Brisbane due to the Dolphins’ Worlds staging camp in Bendigo being held concurrently. This opens the door for some of our other F-Teamers to step up to the podium.
Our newest F-Teamer and dual Olympian Tamsin Cook will feature at Chandler, alongside recent Commonwealth Games stars Ben Armbruster and Jack Ireland. Two of the bigger names to feature at Chandler will be Paralympic royalty Lakeisha Patterson as well as New Zealand swimming royalty Lewis Clareburt (Lewis wasn't able to trial for World Short Course due to a broken arm). It will also be one of the first outings for the Tassie trio of Max Giuliani, Noah Kamprad and Matilda Smith representing their new club of Miami.
Stay tuned for the QLD State Champs results, and be sure to follow our F-Teamers on Instagram!
F-TEAMERS in ACTION
Ben Armbruster @_benarmbruster
Mitchell Tinsley @mjt_aviationrescue
Max Giuliani @max__giuliani
Noah Kamprad @noah_kamprad
Lewis Clareburt @lewis_clareburt
Zac Dell @zac_dell
Kane Follows @kane_follows
Ike Martinez @ike__martinez
Ryan Bicknell @ryan.bicknell
Nathan Foote @nathanfoote
Jake Walker @jake_walkr
Jamie Jack @jamie.jak
Elliot Weber @elliot.web
Jack Ireland @_jack.ireland