Maddy smashes own record to reach world top 5

Former Coffs swimmer sets blistering time and leaves fellow Olympic hopefuls in her wake

Distance swimmer Maddy Gough has smashed her own Australian 1500m shortcourse freestyle record again. Picture: Cavan Flynn.

FORMER Coffs Harbour swimmer Maddy Gough has continued her cracking form to break her own Australian record and set the fifth fasted 1500m time in history.

Gough posted the time at the Queensland State Short Course Championships at the weekend, brushing aside her competitors to win the final and shave nearly 7 seconds off her record.

The 21-year-old swam the 1500m Freestyle at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre in 15:31.19, following on from her fantastic swim almost a month earlier in the same arena.

Gough has taken great strides towards making the Australian Olympic team for the postponed event in Japan next year, despite 2020 beginning with some unorthodox training due to the pandemic.

Maddy Gough has gone from strength to strength. Photo: Richard Gosling

With pools closed throughout the lockdowns, Gough and her counterparts at TSS Aquatic took to ocean swimming to maintain their training schedules.

The emphasis on endurance helped Gough claim her first major record earlier in the month when she posted 15:38.01, the eighth-fastest in history at the time.

In a testament to the stiff competition for Olympic spots, that previous record was almost broken by runner-up Lani Pallister, who posted a top-ten time along with third-placed Kareena Lee.

Gough, who is also a member of the Australian Dolphins Swim Team, placed third in the 800m and fifth in the 400m Freestyle events.

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