Gold medals for Wellington swimmers in Thanyapura, Thailand

During the Easter holidays, the Wellington swimming team enjoyed an fantastic trip to Thanyapura in Phuket, Thailand. The team flew out the week before in order to train at the resort, with morning sessions starting at 7am and ending at 11am, while the afternoon sessions started at 5pm and ended at 7pm. The first day of the competition began with the open water races. An open water event requires competitors to swim around four big buoys floating on the water, as part of a 100-metre lap.. Years 8 and under swam a single lap, Years 9-10 swam two laps and Years 11 and over swam four laps. The open water events gained an added layer of challenge and excitement as a large storm broke out, with rain hammering down on the competitors as they raced! Over the next two days of competitive swimming, Daniel reached the top 8 for every one of his races, securing two gold medals for the 100m and 200m breaststroke events. James achieved a personal best for every race and was very close to getting a bronze medal in the butterfly. Leigh-Ann won four gold medals, as well as a silver and a bronze. She finished second overall in her age group. Jade won four gold medals: two in backstroke, one in butterfly and one in freestyle, placing her second overall as well. Roi got a ribbon (top 8) in every race and his best was fourth place in the 50m butterfly. All of the swimmers had a great time; they very much enjoyed their holiday while representing Wellington superbly well throughout the competition. They are all extremely keen to head back to Thanyapura next year! Daniel (7C)