Noosa Masters swimmers achieved outstanding results at two recent meets.
The Belgravia meet, held in Burpengary’s superb indoor heated pool, offered a rare opportunity to compete over the longer distances of 800 and 1500 metres.
In an astounding weekend of racing, 23 state records and five national records were broken.
Noosa’s Jo Matthews starred with a gruelling 800 metre butterfly swim that broke both the existing state and national records in the 65-69 age group. Her achievement was even more impressive, as a timing malfunction saw Jo and fellow competitors race for two full laps (100 metres) before the race was stopped and restarted.
Clubmate Brian Hoepper swam both the 800 metre and 1500 metre breaststroke events, setting a new state record for each in the 75-79 age group.
Across the two days, fine swims were also completed by Noosa’s Anne Besser, Terry Carter and Helen Malar.
Two weeks later, Terry, Jo and Brian were joined by Rod Alfredson and Wendy Nothdurft for the Brisbane Northside meet at the historic Valley Pool.
In the short course events, swum in a 25-metre pool, the racing was fast and furious. The Noosa team of five all collected medals. Terry, Brian and Jo won gold, Wendy – pipped by Jo in their age group – won silver and bronze went to Rod. Collectively, the team won the John and Shirley Kerr Trophy for top points by a small club.
Again, records tumbled, with nine state and two national records broken. These evoked memories of the numerous records broken over the many decades when the Valley pool hosted every state championship.
In the wake of their successes, Noosa’s swimmers are now in serious training for their own meet, to be held at the Noosa Aquatic Centre on Saturday 24 September.
