Competing at world championship level is a big step up.
In August, six members of the Noosa Masters Swimming Club accepted that challenge, entering the 2025 Masters World Championships in Singapore. In all, there were over 6000 competitors.
The prized gold medals are often won by ex-Olympians seeking to maintain their sense of supreme performance. Silver and bronze medals are almost as elusive, and top 10 positions attract fine certificates worthy of display.
For the Noosa team in Singapore, success came early in the open water events, held a week before the pool competition began. Georgina Kovacs (45-49 age group) and Yvonne Mutton (65-69) both won bronze in the gruelling 3km race that demanded almost an hour of exhausting effort. Hard fought medals indeed.
In the pool, Noosa’s record-breaking butterfly exponent Jo Matthews faced daunting competition. She responded impressively with four ‘personal best’ (PB) swims, winning bronze in the 100m fly (swimming 1:42.96, only .15 sec off the Queensland state record), two tantalisingly close fourth places and a sixth place in the 50m fly with a time of 51.96 sec that broke the Queensland state record.
Rob Jolly – freely admitting he was not at his best – still placed in the top 10 (ninth) in the 100m freestyle and was impressively consistent in his four other events, placing 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th.
Jim Travers, experiencing world championship competition for the first time, finished in the top 20 in two events and came away satisfied with his PBs and with a valuable lesson in how best to swim the taxing 400m freestyle.
Terry Carter placed in the top 10 in four of her five races and was delighted when her twin sister Gail (who’d flown in from London) went one better with five top 10 results. Terry’s highlight came when she filled in for an injured swimmer in the Miami Masters 320+ mixed freestyle relay team. Miami (traditional rivals of Noosa club!) won gold, breaking the championship record.
The Masters World Championships always offer the pleasure of sampling life in a vibrant foreign city. This year provided a bonus, as the city-state was bustling with SG 60 celebrations, marking 60 years of independence.
The Noosa team responded enthusiastically, none more so than Jo Matthews, who celebrated her 70th birthday at the historic Raffles Hotel.
Eyes now are on Budapest 2027.
