Outstanding Performances by Neo and Declan at the South Island Swimming Championships

By Annika Bokor | Posted: Thursday March 19, 2026

Declan Roulston and Neo Salomonsson swam at the South Island Swimming Championships, held at the newly opened Parakiore Sports and Recreation Centre in Christchurch from 13–15 March.

Declan Roulston, competing in the 12–14 age group, had a strong meet across multiple events. He started strong on day one, claiming gold in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:08.62, a small personal best and a National age group championship qualifying time. Declan also competed in the 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly, finishing 5th in both events. In the 50m freestyle, he improved from 27.89 in the heat to 27.65 in the final, setting another personal best. Declan also earned silver in the 50m backstroke, clocking 32.25, improving slightly from his heat time.

Neo Salomonsson, competing in the 17+/Open age group, showcased his strength in butterfly, claiming gold in all three butterfly events and earning the overall championship title. He also set new South Island Championship records in each butterfly race. While Neo usually prefers shorter distances, his standout performance came in the 200m butterfly, where he improved his personal best by over 2 seconds. A 0.6 second personal best in the 100m butterfly, finishing in 54.36, also earned him qualification times for the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and the Youth Olympics. Neo also re-broke his own Otago age group record in 100 butterfly he set earlier in January.

Great swimming Neo and Declan!