Day 2 Finals MC Age Nats: Buddy awesome as records tumble

DECLAN BUDD (pictured) dominated the penultimate night of finals at the Australian MC Age Championships on the Gold Coast, claiming back-to-back golds with back-to-back record-breaking swims.

Already crowned the boys’ 16-18 years 50m backstroke MC age champion, Budd set a new S14 boys’ 18 years 100m freestyle Australian record with his 53.33 earning bronze behind Paris Paralympic champion Callum Simpson and Beau Matthews.

He then shattered a 50m S14 butterfly national age record from 2014 to claim gold (25.96) with Thomas Voigt and Alex Scanlon-Dawson finishing second and third.

Just 30 minutes later, rising star Liam Togher rewrote the S9 16-year boys’ 100m backstroke national age record, previously held by his good mate and two-time Paralympic gold medallist Tim Hodge.

Togher’s record time of 1:03.70 earned him gold while Eden Hinchey from Macquarie Shores claimed silver (1:15.69) and Sunshine Coast Grammar’s Jackson King took bronze (1:20.79). Togher also won bronze in the boys’ 16-18 year 50m freestyle behind Hamish Keenan (silver) and Simpson (gold).

The final national record of the night fell to Mia Hogan – her 1:13.12 in the girls 14-15 years 100m butterfly highlighting an outstanding meet in which she has already claimed two gold, three silver and two bronze.

Full results can be found here