STAFF WRITERS
SWIMMING
THE Traralgon Swimming Club returned from the Victorian Country Swimming Championships in Mildura with a raft of individual and relay medals, records and knowing that it took the might of the Geelong regional area to break its 17-year winning streak.
The club had a fantastic tussle over three days with Geelong, however the end result was an outstanding second place by 124 points and just missing the boys trophy by 18 points (equivalent to one silver medal).
The consolation prize for Traralgon was that Geelong is now coached by ex-Traralgon swimmer and Australian representative Sam Ashby.
Overall, Traralgon’s swimmers won 17 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze medals.
In the team relay events this is where the club showed its dominance, winning 13 out of 22 relays and adding a silver and two bronze to the total.
Senior head coach Brian Ford was proud of the team.
“Whilst we finished second to an excellent Geelong team we carry our heads high and are extremely proud of our achievements,” he said.
“In the water we could not have asked for more. A number of swimmers competed in up to 30 events over three days with heats, finals and relay performances whilst others turned in personal bests under hot and challenging conditions.
“Our relays were brilliant as we showed dominance across all age groups and a fierce desire to up hold the club’s tradition as the ‘Relay Club’.
“Out of the water our parents and supporters were consistently loud and proud with over the top support.
“The camaraderie amongst the team was first rate and encouragement for each other a testament to the ‘can do’ culture in the club. Finally, the success of our swimmers is the result of some amazing hard work by our coaches Dean Gooch and Cam Juha, who prepared the swimmers impeccably.”
Traralgon now moves forward with the Gippsland Championships at the end of February at Warragul, defending its title of premier Gippsland club since 2000.
Given that four Gippsland teams finished in the top 10 teams at the Country Championships, the racing and competition will be hot over the three days from this Friday to Sunday.
