Otago Secondary School Swimming Championships

By Annika Boker | Posted: Thursday May 23, 2024

Six OBHS boys made quite a splash at the recent Otago Secondary School swimming championships, facing off against some top talent from across Otago.

The junior swimmers were represented by Fletch McCall, Oliver Isles, and Henry Hodgson, while the senior squad was led by Neo Salomonsson, Aleks Kivilev, and Taka Sugiyama. They were competing in two age groups: 14 and under, and 15 and over. Henry had a bit of tough luck, blowing out candles just a day before hitting the pool for his 15th birthday.

It was a fast-paced session, where swimmers with many events had races closely together. The action was non-stop for Neo, completing 200 fly, 50 back and 100 free all within 14 minutes, who along with Fletch had a very busy schedule. Meanwhile, Taka was out there showing off some serious self-management skills.

But let's talk about that nail-biter of a 4 x 50 m medley relay. Putting together a team with Oliver, Neo, Aleks and Taka was no easy feat, with breaststroke as the weapon of choice for three of them. They were all excellent sports, happily swimming the stroke that was best for the team. Taka kicked things off, handling the backstroke leg like a champ, despite it being his weakest stroke. He held up well against two backstroke specialists from Dunstan (Alexandra) and King's High School, ‘only’ falling two seconds behind while taking the opportunity to show off his under-water skills. Then it was Oliver's turn, matching pace with an older swimmer from King's on the breaststroke leg. Neo, who was next up with his lightning-fast fly, powered through and quickly caught up, leaving the King's team in their wake and giving Aleks a three second advantage. Aleks brought it home with a strong finish, widening the gap to secure a solid second place behind Dunstan.

All in all, it was a thrilling day at the pool, with our boys proving once again that they're forces to be reckoned with in the water.

From youngest to oldest, their placings were:

Fletchneo

 McCall

50 free – 8th
100 IM – 7th
50 fly – 5th
400 free – 3rd
100 fly – 2nd
100 free – 4th

Oliver Isles

50 free – 1st
100 IM – 1st
50 breast – 1st

Henry Hodgson

200 free – 6th
50 breast – 8th
400 free – 4th
200 IM – 6th

Neo Salomonsson

50 free – 1st
50 fly – 1st
100 fly – 1st
200 fly – 1st
50 back – 2nd
100 free – 2nd

Aleks Kivilev

100 back – 3rd
100 IM – 2nd
100 free – 6th

Taka Sugiyama

100 IM - 1st
100 fly – 2nd
50 breast – 3rd
200 IM – 2nd

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