Daiya Seto And McEvoy In Light On The First Day Of Competition

2024 SYDNEY OPEN & UNISPORT NATIONALS

We’ve entered the first day of the Sydney 2024 Open & Unisport Nationals, a non-Olympic qualifying competition featuring some of the nation’s top athletes.

There is also a sprinkling of international athletes, such as the Japanese Daiya Seto And Rikako Ikeeto raise the stakes ahead of the Paris Games, which are less than 80 days away.

WOMEN’S COMPETITIONS DAY 1

The reigning world champion Erika Fairweather he gave up competing in the 400 meter freestyle. Ella Ramsay he took advantage of this by winning the race in 4:11.49. The New Zealander Caitlin Deanssettled for silver with a delay of just 6 cents in 4:11.55.

The Olympic veteran Leah Neale he completed the podium one hundredth of a second from second place with 4:11.56 in an extremely close battle.

For Ramsay, tonight’s outing represents a major personal best, obliterating the 4:15.72 achieved at this year’s Brisbane Metropolitan Championships. Neale also set a PB, besting the 4:15.51 with which she placed eighth at last month’s national championships. Deans remained nearly identical to the 4:11.66 with which she won bronze at the 2024 New Zealand Olympic Trials.

Elizabeth Dekkers won the 200m butterfly, a race in which he set a new PB of 2:05.20 last month. That time placed her at number 2 in the world.

2	Elizabeth Ann Dekkers	AUX	2:05.20	04/18
3	Yufei Zhang	CHN	2:05.57	09/24
4	Summer MCINTOSH	CAN	2:05.73	01/11
5	AIRI MITSUI	JPN	2:06.54	03/22

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Tonight she clocked 2:06.57 to beat her competitors by more than 2 seconds. Bella Grant took silver in 2:08.92, just half a second behind last month’s 2:08.42. Brittany Castelluzzo took bronze in 2:11.29.

All eyes were on the duel between the 17-year-old Olivia Wunsch of Carlile and the Japanese Rikako Ikee in the women’s 50m freestyle.

This morning, after heats, Wunsch gained the lane 4 lead by swimming 25.01 to Ikee’s 25.11.

In the final, Wunsch went even further, swimming 24.78 and coming just 0.19 shy of the 24.59 that earned her the gold medal at last year’s World Junior Championships.

Ikee took silver in 25.03, compared to 24.88 at this year’s Japanese Olympic Trials. Brittany Castelluzzo he closed the top 3 in 25.09.

MEN’S COMPETITIONS DAY 1

Kane Follows he won the 200 meter backstroke and managed to beat Bradley Woodward.

The twenty-six year old Follows he achieved a result of 1:58.56 in another closely contested race. Woodward he settled for silver just 0.11 points behind in 1:58.67.

Even the nineteen year old Enoch Robb he put himself out there, clocking 1:58.78 for bronze. The Olympic medalist Mitch Larkin took fourth place in 2:00.08.

Woodward is the reigning Australian national champion thanks to his 1:57.67 recorded last month.

Follows is the new New Zealand national record holder in this event, with a time of 1:57.13 at last month’s Olympic Trials. This performance was enough to add his name to the NZL Olympic list for Paris.

The national record holder Matthew Temple demonstrated his dominance once again, setting a time of 51.27 to win the men’s 100 meter butterfly. Shaun Champion he placed second in 51.99.

At the national championships, Temple recorded a 50.80, while he currently sits at No. 2 in the world with his time at the Japan Open last December.