Powering through in pouring rain and wintery conditions, reigning World Para Champ, Lakeisha Patterson (S9), turned up the heat at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre to claim gold in her pet event – the Women’s 400m Freestyle Multi-Class.
Pinching the first medal on night one of the 2021 Australian Multi-Class Swimming Championships, Belgravia’s Patterson posted a time of 4:39.55 (840 points) – only a second off her gold medal world champs time in 2019 – to beat out fellow Dolphins Katja Dedekind (S13) from USC Spartans (4:39.50, 801 points) and Yeronga Park’s Monique Murphy (S10) who posted 4:51.05 and 792 points.
Speaking after the race, a delighted Patterson – who was excited to be back racing – said she was pleased with the time she posted.
“It’s the fastest I’ve been in a little while, so it’s a good position to be in considering the past year we’ve all had, and it can only go up from here leading into trials,” Patterson said.
“Seeing where I was in 2019 and to only be a second off that is really promising and not being fully tapered or rested, putting in the hard yards while and where we can, especially last week there was a lockdown and having to swim in the ocean and still being able to put that together is really exciting.
“I know I’m going to put everything I have into these next couple of months leading into trials and the Paralympic Games.”
Taking home his first Australian title, local athlete Tom Gallagher (S9) from Somerset GC won the Men’s 400m Freestyle Multi-Class event. Hitting the wall in a highly impressive time of 4:10.17 (997 points), the newcomer claimed gold ahead of reigning Paralympic Champ and experienced campaigner, Belgravia’s Brenden Hall (S9) who clocked 4:20.20 and 886 points. There was a tie for bronze between Kawana Waters’ Liam Schluter (S14) and SLC Aquadot’s Alexander Tuckfield (S9), who both posted times equalling 868 points.
In the Men’s 50m Multi-Class splash and dash, Yeronga Park’s Rowan Crothers (S10) tackled the wind head on to muscle his way to the finish in a scorching 23.63 (942 points). Backing up from the 400m event, Gallagher (S9) touched for second to secure his second medal for the night in 25.14 (870 points). USC Spartans’ Jacob Templeton placed third in 24.69 (830 points).
Even through the teeming rain Crothers was clearly beaming as he let the victory wash over him post-race.
“It feels really awesome, the conditions here aren’t amazing, there’s a lot of rain and the wind is going in the opposite direction but I’m not really about making excuses,” Crothers said.
“To me it’s more like the odds are stacked against me and against everyone and I’m only swimming point two off my lifetime best – I’m just over the moon, I’m so happy.
Uni of Queensland’s Paige Leonhardt (S14) added two gold medals to her list of achievements on night one, pinching Australian titles in the 100m Butterfly Multi-Class and 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class. Kew’s Col Pearse also notched up two medals on Monday evening, taking home the Men’s 100m Butterfly Multi-Class and the Boys 17-18 50m Butterfly in the Age event.
The action continues tomorrow at 9am (local time). You can catch every race live from the Gold Coast Swimming & Aquatic Centre on Amazon Prime Video or via SwimTV.
More Open Results:
Women’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class
Gold – Paige Leonhardt (SB14) Uni of Queensland, 1:15.16 (902 points)
Silver – Tiffany Thomas Kane (SB7) Warringah Aquatic, 1:33.72 (832 points)
Bronze – Ashley Van Rijswijk SB14 (Wagga Wagga) 1:17.34 (828 points)
Men’s 50m Backstroke Multi-Class
Gold – Joshua Alford (S14) Tuggeranong Vikings, 32.39 (586 points)
Silver – Jarred Dyer (S14) Wollongong, 33.30 (540 points)
Bronze – Oscar Stubbs (S13) SOPAC, 30.64 (537 points)
Women’s 50m Backstroke Multi-Class
Gold – Madeleine McTernan (S14) St Hilda's Aquatic, QLD, 33.29 (646 points)
Silver – Tahlia Blanshard (S7) Woy Woy, 42.29 (622 points)
Bronze – Taylor Corry (S14) Nelson Bay, 34.19 (596 points)
Men’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class
Gold – Jake Michel (SB14) Carina Leagues CJ's, 1:06.13 (947 points)
Silver – Matthew Levy (SB6) North Sydney, 1:26.25 (760 points)
Bronze – Blake Cochrane (SB7) USC Spartans, 1:18.52 (749 points)
Women’s 50m Freestyle Multi-Class
Gold – Katja Dedekind (S13) USC Spartans, 27.71 (892 points)
Silver – Kirralee Hayes (S13) Genesis, 28.39 (829 points)
Bronze – Keira Stephens (S10) USC Spartans, 29.65 (787 points)
Women’s 100m Butterfly Multi-Class
Gold – Paige Leonhardt (S14) Uni of Queensland, 1:06.60 (874 points)
Silver – Taylor Corry (S14) Nelson Bay, 1:08.26 (812 points)
Bronze – Ruby Storm (S14) USC Spartans, 1:09.07 (784 points)
Men’s 100m Butterfly Multi-Class
Gold – Col Pearse (S10) Kew, 58.08 (836 points)
Silver – William Martin (S10) Nudgee College, 58.28 (827 points)
Bronze – Benjamin Hance (S14) USC Spartans, 58.31 (815 points)
Multi-Class Age Results
Girls 17-18yrs 50m Butterfly Multi-Class
Gold – Ava Sayyadi (S10) Loreto Normanhurst, 34.95 (459 points)
Silver – Kirralea Clarke (S14) Belgravia Swim, 44.46 (275 points)
Boys 17-18yrs 50m Butterfly Multi-Class
Gold – Col Pearse (S10) Kew, 26.64 (728 points)
Silver – Hugh Gillham (S10) Kinross Wolaroi, 26.87 (710 points)
Bronze – Morgan Jean (S14) Wauchope, 30.35 (549 points)
Girls 11-14yrs 100m Backstroke Multi-Class
Gold – Holly Warn (S7) St Hilda’s Aquatics, QLD, 1:37.65 (539 points)
Silver – Krystal Jessen (S14) Aquablitz Toongabbie, 1:19.53 (522 points)
Bronze – Montana Atkinson (S14) Helensvale, 1:21.99 (477 points)
Boys 11-14yrs 100m Backstroke Multi-Class
Gold – Declan Budd (S14) Knox Pymble, 1:19.16 (420 points)
Silver – Jack Gibson (S9) Dapto, 1:22.38 (410 points)
Bronze – Samuel Morley (S10) Onkaparinga 1:18.98 (381 points)
Girls 15-16yrs 50m Freestyle Multi-Class
Gold – Kirralee Hayes (S13) Genesis, 28.26 (841 points)
Silver – Angela Bubb (S10) Logan Viking, 31.34 (666 points)
Bronze – Isabella Vincent (S7) Norwood, 36.49 (559 points)
Boys 15-16yrs 50m Freestyle Multi-Class
Gold – Alexander Tuckfield (S9) SLC Aquadot 27.70 (650 points)
Silver – Samuel Gould (S14) Twin Towns, 28.19 (550 points)
Bronze – Joel Mundie (S7) Central Cairns, 33.18 (543 points)
Girls 17-18yrs 50m Backstroke Multi-Class
Gold – Hannah Price (S9) Campbelltown, 35.37 (681 points)
Silver – Poppy Wilson (S10) Woogaroo, 34.76 (649 points)
Bronze – Sarah Wallace (S7) Cotton Tree, 1:00.26 (215 points)
Boys 17-18yrs 50m Backstroke Multi-Class
Gold – Alexander Killender (S10), Kilmore, 33.43 (496 points)
Silver – Joshua Smith (S14), Woy Woy, 35.63 (440 points)
Bronze – Morgan Jean Wauchope, 36.85 (398 points)
Girls 11-14yrs 50m Breaststroke Multi-Class
Gold – Imogen Nolan (SB15) Northcote, 36.97 (554 points)
Silver – Stephanie Bruzzese (SB14) Trinity Grammar NSW, 40.28 (474 points)
Bronze – Kael Thompson (SB14) Beerwah & District, 41.19 (443 points)
Boys 11-14yrs 50 Breaststroke Multi-Class
Gold – Samuel Morley (SB9) Onkarparinga 41.71 (293 points)
Silver – Matty Price (SB14) Parkes, 43.46 (290 points)
Bronze – Siddhant Sachdeva (SB7) Uni of Queensland, 49.43 (265 points)
Girls 15-16yrs 100m Butterfly Multi-Class
Gold – Angela Bubb (S10) Logan Vikings, 1:13.36 (621 points)
Silver – Jasmin Fullgrabe (S9) Clovercrest, 1:20.80 (462 points)
Bronze – Maddison Hinds (S14) Hornsby, 1:25.47 (414 points)
Boys 15-16ys 100m Butterfly Multi-Class
Gold – Lewis Bishop (S10) Rackley, 1:05.09 (594 points)
Silver – Samuel Gould (S14) Twin Towns, 1:11.55 (441 points)
Bronze – William Salmond (S10) Caribeae, 1:16.28 (369)
Girls 17-18yrs 50m Breaststroke Multi-Class
Gold – Natalie Shaw (SB9) St Hilda’s Aquatics, QLD, 38.28 (567 points)
Silver – Hannah Price (SB9) Campbelltown, 40.78 (469 points)
Bronze – Ava Sayyadi (SB9) Loreto Normanhurst, 43.07 (380 points)
Boys 17-18yrs 50m Breaststroke Multi-Class
Gold – Jack Howell (SB9) Haileybury, 36.35 (443 points)
Silver – Kaden Smith (SB14) SLC Aquadot, 38.86 (406 points)
Bronze – Jackson Hughes (SB14) patriots Sunshine Coast, 40.21 (367 points)
Click here to follow all the race results.
Note: All para races were swum as multi-class races, meaning athletes from all classifications competed in the same event, with the para-swimmer the highest point score crowned the winner.
The Multi-Class Point Score (MCPS) has been developed to provide a simplified way for swimmers and coaches to measure and compare performances. The MCPS is based on the World Record (WR) times for each classification, but also takes into account weightings for non-Paralympic events that are not raced by other countries around the world.
