Strong swimming performances from our boys at the South Island Long Course Championships

By Annika Bokor | Posted: Thursday February 27, 2025

Four of our boys headed to Invercargill for three days to attend the South Island Long Course swimming (SI LC) championships.

Fletcher McCall and Oliver Isles competed in the 13-14 age group, Neo Salomonsson in the 15-16 age group and Taka Sugiyama in the 17 & over one.  Neo and Oliver focused on the fast-paced sprint events (50 m and 100 m), while Taka and Fletcher took on the challenge of the longer distances. The racing days were intense with qualifying prelim swims in the mornings, and finals in the afternoons (for events shorter than 800 m). Each one of them had some noteworthy performances and a summary, presented from youngest to oldest, can be found below.

Fletcher, a recent regular on the competition scene, competed in three freestyle events: the 50 m, 200 m, and 800 m races. Despite a setback when an error by his club’s team manager resulted in him missing his favourite event, the 800 m freestyle, Fletcher demonstrated remarkable strength. Thanks to the organisers’ flexibility, he was given a lane alongside the female competitors’ heats. Perhaps motivated by the chase from the ladies’ field, Fletcher rocketed through his race, slicing an impressive 30 seconds off his personal best time. His outstanding effort earned him a well-deserved silver medal in this event. Fletcher also had a great 200 freestyle swim, where he took off over 5 seconds from his previous personal best time.

With the rugby season behind him, Oliver is intensifying his swimming efforts, and he seized the opportunity to compete across all four strokes. While breaststroke and freestyle remain his preferred strokes, it was in the 50 m butterfly where he delivered a standout performance, slashing an impressive 2.27 seconds off his entry time to claim the bronze medal. He continued his medal streak in the 50 m freestyle, dipping under the 27-second barrier for the first time with a personal best improvement of 0.91 seconds, earning him silver. Oliver’s finest moment came in the 50 m breaststroke final, where he surged to gold, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of his closest competitor. He led from the start from a quick jump and fast pull-out, and he extended that lead with every stroke he took.

Neo had a cracker of a meet where he truly showcased his strength stroke: butterfly. Competing in all three butterfly distances (50 m, 100 m, and 200 m), Neo not only claimed gold in his age group but also clocked the fastest times among all male competitors, earning the overall open men’s title in these events. With these swims he shattered the South Island age-group records and the longstanding Otago age-group record in the 50 m butterfly, lowering it by 0.44 seconds, a mark that has been untouched since 2002. Neo’s mental toughness, grit and resilience were on full display in the 100 m freestyle final. Coming off a gruelling 200 m butterfly just five minutes prior, he pushed through the fatigue to secure another age-group gold and the open category title. With a lighter schedule on day two, Neo took on one of his least favourite events, the 200 m freestyle. Trailing by nearly two body lengths at the 150 m mark, he unleashed a fierce finishing sprint to overtake his competitors, touched the wall first, and set yet another South Island record. On the final day, Neo expanded his program with the 50 m freestyle and backstroke. He capped off his meet with a gold in the freestyle sprint and a bronze in the backstroke.

In true Taka style, endurance was the name of the game. Preferring the longer-distance events, Taka racked up significantly more racing metres than his sprint-focused teammates, covering an extra kilometre compared to Neo and nearly two kilometres more than Oliver! His preferred events, the individual medley (IM), breaststroke, and distances over 200 m, showcased both his stamina and strategic race planning. Taka faced the challenge of competing in both heats and finals for the gruelling 400 m IM and 400 m freestyle races. Carefully pacing himself, he delivered strong performances to claim silver in both these events. In breaststroke, he contested all three distances, narrowly missing the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 200 m event. Taka also qualified for the 200 m freestyle final but chose to withdraw to focus on his 400 m IM final in the same session.

Individual results summary (times):

Fletcher McCall

SILVER - 800 freestyle (10:33.56)

9th - 200 freestyle (2:24.73)

19th - 50 freestyle (31.38)

Oliver Isles

GOLD – 50 breaststroke (34.30)

SILVER – 50 freestyle (26.21)

BRONZE – 50 backstroke (31.34)

4th – 100 freestyle (59.90)

5th – 50 butterfly (30.48)

Neo Salomonsson

GOLD – 50 butterfly, Otago Age-Group Record, SI LC record, Open Category Champion (25.49)

GOLD – 100 butterfly, SI LC record, Open Category Champion (57.37)

GOLD – 200 butterfly, SI LC record, Open Category Champion (1:14.44)

GOLD – 50 freestyle (24.90)

GOLD – 100 freestyle, Open Category Champion (54.75)

GOLD – 200 freestyle, SI LC record (1:59.96)

BRONZE – 50 backstroke (28.69)

Taka

SILVER - 400 freestyle (4:32.59)

SILVER – 400 IM (5:30.57)

4th – 200 breaststroke (3:03.71)

5th - 50 breaststroke (33.42)

5th – 100 breaststroke (1:15.32)

200 freestyle (2:17.31, heat swim time)