Day 3 Finals - Aussie Age Champs: Beefed up Southam makes statement

A determined Flynn Southam (pictured) showed just what was needed to separate the men from the boys and it wasn’t just the cracking time of 3:52.13 to win the 18 years 400m freestyle at the Australian Age Championships on the Gold Coast.

The senior Dolphin, at least five kilograms of muscle heavier than the version that helped Australia to win two World Championship relay gold medals in Japan last year, took the national title from Lucky Lane 8.

In a stacked field featuring two of his fellow World Junior Dolphins teammates in Anders McAlpine and Johann Szymanski, the three went stroke for stroke before Southam lengthened out to win gold.

McAlpine clocked 3:52.44 for second and Szymanski (3:52.93) third.

While Southam, 18, is too old to be eligible for the Junior Pan Pacs team, to be announced at the conclusion of both Age and Open National Championships, Joshua Conias made a down payment on selection in the Boys 16 Years 100m freestyle.

The 16-year-old was never headed and only missed by a fingernail on breaking the 50-second mark.

The Somerville House swimmer, coached by Tim Lane, clocked a personal best of 50.06secs and with Cam McEvoy as his training partner is widely tipped as the next Aussie swimmer to go under the magical mark.

Jackson Anderson (Highlanders) finished third in 50.54 and Kai Gilbert (St Peters Western) third in 51.27.

In the Girls 13 years 100m butterfly, Rackley’s Annika Silvester doubled down on her outstanding morning heat swim, clocking a classy 1:01.67.

Silvester has been the stand-out record-breaking butterflyer through the Queensland State and Australian Schools ranks – and was never headed.

Fellow breaststroker Hayley Mackinder continued her Age Group dominance, winning the Girls 16 years 100m breaststroke.

The Griffith University swimmer, coached by 2012 and 2016 Olympian Tommy Fraser-Holmes, clocked 1:08.89 with Julia Remington second (All Saints, 1:10.25) and Ella Mounter third (NUSWIM, 1:10.31).

In other results:

• Girls 13 Years 200m backstroke: Ciara Jeffs (Yarra Plenty Waves, VIC) surged in the last 50m to clock 2:22.41, with Madison McKenna second (Boyne Tannum, 2:23.18) and visiting international Shu Ning Julia Yeo (Singapore,2:25.23) – one of a 47-strong team from Singapore, third.
• Girls 15 Years 100m freestyle: Five-time 2023 Australian Age champion Lillie McPherson (Manly, NSW) touched first in 55.84 with Aeisha Clark (56.41, Nunawading) second and Asha Ring (56.51, SOPAC) third.
• Boys 17 years 400m freestyle: With a fist pump, Tex Cross (Highlanders, WA) celebrated his last-lap gut-busting win over Cranbrook’s Marcus Da Silva. The pair eye-balled each other from across the pool before Cross out-touched Da Silva in 3:52.98 to 3:53.61. In third was Ike Martinez Rackley, 3:55.74
• Boys 12-13 years 50m freestyle multi-class: Noah Erne (S14, Lower Blue Mountains) won his eighth gold medal of this meet clocking 29.28secs ahead of Luke McDonogh (S14, Pimpama, 32.67) and Jordan Huynh (S9, Campbelltown, 32.80) third.
• Girls 15 years 200IM: One of the best young breaststrokers for her age group, Sienna Toohey from Albury made her move in her favoured leg and it was enough to hold off Rocky City’s rising star Amelie Smith. Toohey (2:16.65) out touched Smith (2:16.93) with Lillie McPherson (Manly, 2:17.36) third.

Day 4 heats start 9am Tuesday and live results can be found: https://liveresults.swimming.org.au/sal/2024Age/