Swimming young guns make waves in lead-up to state champs

One rising star from the Warwick area broke a massive five records at one meet to qualify for state championships.

SWIMMING SENSATION: Bailey Harm with coach Andrew Fidge (left) and his three gold medals at last year’s Sprint Championships.

SWIMMING: Swimming stars of Warwick and the Southern Downs are making waves in the pool this season, with several locking in spots at this month’s state championships.

Several junior athletes from the Allora Swimming Club will compete at the Queensland Sprint Championships on February 13 and 14.

Young gun Bailey Harm broke five records at the Darling Downs Regional Swimming Association’s Country Championships, including 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke, 50m freestyle, and 200m individual medley.

Harm was also named as age champion at the same event alongside fellow Allora athletes Maeve Moore, Claire Eckersley, and club captain Anna Eckersley.

Head coach Andrew Fidge said he was even more impressed by the entire club’s outstanding results at last week’s Gatton and Stanthorpe meets.

“There’s been great performances by all swimmers, but the one that stood out might have been the U12s’ relay at Gatton, where they swam different strokes than usual and it worked,” Fidge said.

“They’ve just been performing so well as a team. It’s an individual sport, but we’re performing as a team and supporting each other through good and bad.”

With the Sprint Championships now only weeks away, Fidge said the Allora club would be taking one of its largest representative teams ever.

“A lot of kids have set their sights on qualifying for (states), so there’s a lot of kids who have done really good jobs to get under qualifying times and go down to Chandler,” he said.

“We’re expecting really good performances across the board. Some kids are happy to qualify for the sprints, but we’ve got a few heading down to try to get through to the end.

“From a personal point of view, it’s been one of my best seasons with the club over my 26 years.”

The 2021 RMHC Queensland Sprint Championships will be held at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre on February 13-14.

Click here to book spectator tickets.

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