Swimmers aim for PBs at state champs

Six Gladstone Gladiators are competing in Brisbane this week for the final major swim meet of the year

Gladstone Gladiators Kane Martin, Kai Devine, Shianne Plunkett, Clara furness and Stephanie Elliot will compete at the 2019 McDonalds Queensland Championships in Brisbane

SWIMMING: SIX Gladstone Gladiators swimmers are heading to Brisbane this week to compete in the 2019 McDonald’s Queensland Championships.

It is the final major meet of 2019 and is the “pinnacle” event of this half of the season.

Head coach Tom Fronek said he was extremely proud of the team for the effort they put in to qualify for the meet.

“Preparation has been hard and the swimmers have been focused on their tasks and they have all worked hard to achieve the required times,” Fronek said.

“The qualifying times are tough and it is a great achievement just to qualify for this event.”

Shianne Plunkett has qualified for seven events for her first state championship.

She said she was hoping to improve on some PBs.

“I have one event a day over the six days with two on Tuesday,” she said.

Plunkett will compete in the 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle, as well as the 100m and 200m butterfly.

Other Gladiators Kai Devine and Kane Martin will each compete in six events.

Clara Furness will race in seven events while Frederica Tibone and Stephanie Elliott will compete in two and three events respectively.

“This is a really exciting time for our club and I can’t wait to see how far they go,” Fronek said.