“Next Gen” Queenslanders Aim Up On Successful Japanese Tour
By Ian Hanson (Oceania Correspondent for Swimming World)
The 24 members of the Queensland State Development Squad can hold their heads high after returning home from a successful two-meet tour of Japan – culminating in the highly competitive Japan Open Meet.
Swimming Queensland sent the squad under Head Coach Drew McGregor and seven coaches to experience back-to-back meets as they now prepare for their third meet, the up-coming Queensland State Championships at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre (December 10-16).
Bond Swimming’s 16-year-old Milla Jansen, who is coached by Olympic gold medal coach Chris Mooney, won silver in the 50m freestyle on the final night of the four-day meet, which attracted the cream of Japanese and Korea swimmers.
Jansen clocked a personal best time of 25.23, out-touched for gold in a thrilling final by Japan’s Chihiro Igarashi (25.19) after finishing sixth in the 100m freestyle A final the night before in 55.05.
The 100m freestyle also saw the James Boyce-coached Hannah Casey (Marist Brother Ashgrove) finish fourth in 54.93, the Queensland pair just outside the medals.
Nineteen-year-old Kai Taylor (St Peters Western) also had a strong meet, winning the B final in the 100m freestyle on night one in 49.48 – a time that would have seen him finish fifth in the A final.
Kai then backed up on night two to finish fourth in the 200m freestyle in a new pb of 1:47.83 with his SPW team mate Josh Staples eighth in 1:51.92.
The training partners, who are both coached by Olympic gold medal coach Dean Boxall, then lined up in the men’s 400m freestyle with Staples clocking the fastest qualifying time of 3:52.82 out of the five heats with Taylor clocking 3:54.43 to finish ninth, missing the A final by 0.02.
Staples finished fifth in the A final in 3:51.83 – Taylor winning the B Final in a personal best of 3:51.15 – which agonisingly, would have seen him take bronze in the A final.
The women’s 100m backstroke saw SPW pair Hannah Fredericks (1.01:3) and Jaclyn Barclay (1:01.45) finish fourth and fifth respectively. Barclay is coached by Richard Sleight.
While Sunshine Coast Grammar’s Lucy Dring (coached by Luke Stafford) finished fifth in the 200m freestyle final in 1:59.82.
Fredericks (coach Dean Boxall) also won the B final of the 200m backstroke in 2:13.58 and was second in the B final of the 50m backstroke in 29.10 while Dring was also fourth in the B Final of the 200IM in 2:17.24 and Bond’s Mikayla Bird (Coach: Zander Hey) finished second in the B final of the 200m butterfly in 2:12.10.
Edward Speller (Coach Chris Mooney) finished sixth in the B final of the 50m freestyle in 22.82.
Other Queensland youngsters to feature were 18-year-old Jacqueline Davison-McGovern (Yeronga Park; coach Rob Van Der Zant) with a personal best of 4:13.18 to finish fifth in the A final of the women’s 400m freestyle; Lily Price (Rackley; Coach Damien Jones) third in the B final of the 50m butterfly in 26.86 and Amelia Weber (St Peters Western; Coach Richard Sleight) who won the 400m freestyle B final in 4:15.10.
The three-meet tour is all part of McGregor’s plan to take the next generation out of their comfort zone and subject the team to a series of meets while managing the pressures of travel and racing.
Japan Open Team Results
Congratulations to all the swimmers and coaches on their results at the Japan Open. Special mention to Milla Jansen who collected a silver medal on the last night of racing.
| Athlete | Heat Result | Final Result |
| Hannah Allen | 100m Freestyle (58.32, 46th) | |
| 1500m Freestyle (17:01.00, 14th)* | ||
| 400m Freestyle (4:22.62, 29th) | ||
| 800m Freestyle (8:52.85, 12th)* | ||
| Jaclyn Barclay | 100m Backstroke (1:01.80, 6th) | 100m Backstroke (1:01.45, 5th) |
| 200m Backstroke (2:21.84, 39th) | ||
| 50m Backstroke (29.50, 20th) | ||
| 50m Butterfly (27.90, 46th) | ||
| Mikayla Bird | 200m Butterfly (2:12.87, 13th)* | 200m Butterfly (2:12.10, 2nd - B Final)* |
| 100m Butterfly (1:00.95, 28th) | ||
| 200m Freestyle (2:03.72, 26th) | ||
| 50m Butterfly (27.90, 46th) | ||
| Hannah Casey | 100m Freestyle (55.07, 2nd) | 100m Freestyle (54.93, 4th ) |
| 50m Freestyle (25.91, 9th) | 50m Freestyle (25.97, 7th - B Final) | |
| 100m Butterfly (1:01.09, 34th) | ||
| 50m Butterfly (27.68, 32nd) | ||
| Joshua Collett | 100m Breaststroke (1:02.25, 33rd)* | |
| 200m Individual Medley (2:03.79, 27th) | ||
| 50m Breaststroke (28.36, 26th)* | ||
| 50m Freestyle (23.26, 30th) | ||
| Jacqueline Davison-McGovern | 400m Freestyle (4:16.21, 8th)* | 400m Freestyle (4:13.18, 6th )* |
| 100m Butterfly (1:01.06, 32nd) | ||
| 100m Freestyle (57.30, 34th) | ||
| 800m Freestyle (8:53.59, 13th) | ||
| Layla Day | 100m Backstroke (1:02.84, 16th) | 100m Backstroke (1:02.26, 3rd - B Final) |
| 100m Freestyle (57.88, 41st) | ||
| 200m Backstroke (2:19.19, 30th) | ||
| 50m Backstroke (29.43, 17th) | ||
| Hugh Dolle | 100m Freestyle (50.78, 30th) | |
| 200m Freestyle (1:51.89, 43rd) | ||
| 50m Freestyle (23.60, 53rd) | ||
| Lucy Dring | 200m Freestyle (2:00.38, 5th)* | 200m Freestyle (1:59.82, 5th)* |
| 200m Individual Medley (2:16.77, 12th)* | 200m Individual Medley (2:17.24, 4th - B Final) | |
| 200m Butterfly (2:16.25, 38th) | ||
| 50m Butterfly (27.70, 35th) | ||
| Alex Fahey | 100m Butterfly (54.89, 42nd) | |
| 200m Butterfly (2:02.12, 34th) | ||
| 50m Butterfly (24.94, 39th) | ||
| Hannah Fredericks | 100m Backstroke (1:01.28, 4th)* | 100m Backstroke (1:01.34, 4th) |
| 200m Backstroke (2:15.51, 11th) | 200m Backstroke (2:13.58, 1st - B Final)* | |
| 50m Backstroke (29.31, 15th) | 50m Backstroke (29.10, 2nd - B Final) | |
| Jack Goyen | 100m Freestyle (51.29, 48th) | |
| 200m Freestyle (1:55.78, 58th) | ||
| 50m Freestyle (23.42, 43rd) | ||
| Milla Jansen | 100m Freestyle (55.48, 6th) | 100m Freestyle (55.05, 6th) |
| 50m Freestyle (25.52, 2nd) | 50m Freestyle (25.23, Silver) | |
| 200m Freestyle (2:03.66, 25th) | ||
| Bailey Lello | 100m Breaststroke (1:02.18, 32nd) | |
| 200m Breaststroke (2:21.14, 51st) | ||
| 50m Breaststroke (28.40, 27th)* | ||
| Sophie Martin | 50m Breaststroke (32.19, 13th)* | 50m Breaststroke (32.37, 6th - B Final) |
| 100m Breaststroke (1:10.17, 20th) | ||
| 200m Breaststroke (2:34.99, 50th)* | ||
| 200m Individual Medley (2:18.22, 21st) | ||
| 50m Freestyle (26.74, 44th) | ||
| Anders McAlpine | 100m Freestyle (51.29, 48th) | |
| 200m Freestyle (1:50.75, 23rd) | ||
| 400m Freestyle (3:58.77, 26th) | ||
| 800m Freestyle (8:20.32, 29th) | ||
| Lilly Price | 50m Butterfly (27.00, 10th) | 50m Butterfly (26.86, 3rd - B Final) |
| 100m Butterfly (1:03.83, 62nd) | ||
| 100m Freestyle (57.37, 35rd) | ||
| Taryn Roberts | 200m Individual Medley (2:24.35, 45th) | |
| 400m Individual Medley (5:01.33, 25th) | ||
| Edward Speller | 50m Freestyle (22.84, 12th) | 50m Freestyle (22.82, 6th - B Final) |
| 100m Freestyle (50.79, 31st) | ||
| 200m Freestyle (1:51.54, 38th) | ||
| Joshua Staples | 200m Freestyle (1:49.42, 7th)* | 200m Freestyle (1:51.92, 8th) |
| 400m Freestyle (3:52.82, 1st) | 400m Freestyle (3:51.83, 5th) | |
| 800m Freestyle (8:18.87, 28th) | ||
| 100m Breaststroke (1:06.11, 55th) | ||
| Zachary Tabuai | 100m Freestyle (50.16, 19th) | |
| 200m Freestyle (1:51.97, 44th) | ||
| 400m Freestyle (4:02.07, 35th) | ||
| Kai Taylor | 100m Freestyle (49.79, eq. 8th ) | 100m Freestyle (49.48, 1st - B Final) |
| 200m Freestyle (1:48.60, 3rd) | 200m Freestyle (1:47.83, 4th) | |
| 400m Freestyle (3:54.43, 9th) | 400m Freestyle (3:51.15, 1st - B Final)* | |
| 100m Butterfly (55.38, 45th) | ||
| 50m Freestyle (23.23, 29th) | ||
| Amelia Weber | 400m Freestyle (4:18.91, 14th) | 400m Freestyle (4:15.10, 1st - B Final) |
| 100m Freestyle (57.41, 36th) | ||
| 200m Freestyle (2:05.55, 47th) | ||
| 800m Freestyle (8:59.76, 21st) | ||
| Yannik Zwolsman | 100m Breaststroke (1:03.00, 47th) | |
| 200m Breaststroke (2:15.82, 32nd) | ||
| 50m Breaststroke (29.36, 58th) |
*PB
