Academy swimmers smash long-standing provincial records
The 2019 regionals had been the most successful for the academy for many years.
Two Aquatic Academy swimmers broke several provincial records, one 25 years old, at the 2019 SA Open and Youth Aquatic Championships in Durban in April.
These two events ran concurrently, giving youth swimmers the opportunity to compete with senior elite qualifiers.
Kyle McKenzie and Bernelee Doster both qualified to compete in this grand finale at the end of every season. International swimmers of the calibre of Chad le Clos, Brad Tandy, Ayerton Sweeney, Douglas Erasmus and Tatiana Schoenmacher were all there.
McKenzie (18) qualified with several events for the SA Open Championship (Junior Elite 23 years and younger). He smashed records set in 1995 and 1994 for the 200m and 400m individual medleys respectively. He swam 2:09.28 (previous record 2:14.93) in the 200m and 4:38.18 (previous time 4:54.66) in the 400m.
He also broke the 200m breaststroke record, swimming 2:23.53 (previous record 2:31.71). He lowered the provincial 100m breaststroke record from 1:08.74 to 1:07.64 to ensure the 2019 Senior Open Nationals was his most successful to date.
McKenzie is a versatile medley and powerful breaststroke swimmer. He swam nine personal top times and qualified in three B finals.
Doster (14) smashed a record set in 1995 when she swam 1:07.94 (previous time 1:10.38) in the 100m backstroke. She qualified to compete in the championships in the youth category (23 and under).
Her swim won her a gold medal for this event and a senior open qualifying time.
She also lowered the provincial record, set in 1995, in the 200m backstroke with a time of 2:27.67 (previous time 2.31.71), narrowly missing a bronze medal. Her 50m backstroke set another record time of 32.59 (previous 33.05).
The 2019 regionals had been the most successful for many years. The hard work and perseverance paid off. The three squad groups from Aquatic Academy, Tigers and Debbie Mcgee ensured the ESP Piranha brand is now recognised and well represented at all five levels of South African competitions.
