Trio takes gold on NZ trip

Three Sydney Hills Club swimmers shone at a recent Special Olympics tournament in New Zealand.

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Three Sydney Hills Club swimmers shone at a recent Special Olympics tournament in New Zealand.

Corey Atkinson, Katya Dorey and Lauren Heggie collectively won five golds, a silver and a bronze and set a grand total of seven personal bests at the Special Olympics Trans-Tasman Tournament held in Hamilton from November 25-27.

The Trans-Tasman Tournament, for athletes with intellectual disabilities, has been held since 2011 in New Zealand and Australia.

This year’s event focused on swimming and athletics while previous sports have included football, basketball and tenpin bowling.

Corey won gold in the 50m backstroke, setting a personal best of 38.69 seconds as well as taking out first place in the 25m butterfly.

Katya touched for second in her division of the 50m freestyle and finished fifth in the 100m freestyle, and she swam personal bests in all three of her events.

Lauren brought home gold in her division of the 100m breaststroke and finished third in the 50m freestyle and fifth in the 50m backstroke, achieving three personal best times along the way.

Corey and Lauren also won gold as part of their respective 4 x 50m relays, while Katya’s team finished fifth in the 50m relay.

Coach Amber van Zeeland, who accompanied the three swimmers to New Zealand, said she was “so proud of our athletes”.

“It’s hard to imagine how they could have done better,” she said.

The Sydney Hills Club provides weekly sports training and regular competition for people with an intellectual disability.

The swimmers train at Oakhill College in Castle Hill.