By JARROD POTTER
OUR best swimmers will battle the rest of Australia as the Casey TigerSharks prepare for another gut-busting Australian Swimming Championships campaign.
Josh Beaver, Matson Lawson, Holly Brettle and Tyrone Dobrunz are set to take on the Australia’s finest swimmers at the championships – held 3-10 April at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
TigerSharks coach Ben Hiddlestone said despite a varied preparation – with some casting their gaze more towards Rio qualifying than World Champs – the quartet is ready to have a crack at another international qualifying encounter.
“They fly out Thursday morning and we’ll see what happens up there – fingers crossed,” Hiddlestone said.
“Got a bit of a mixed bag preparation I suppose – bit of ebb and flow in the lull before the Olympic year.”
Commonwealth Games medallists Josh Beaver, from Tooradin, and Langwarrin’s Matson Lawson are primed for a world championships place and rate highly in the 200m backstroke and 100m backstroke.
Coming off his best year in the pool – with three Commonwealth Games medals earned in Glasgow alongside his ticket to Singapore for the Swim Stars meet in September – Beaver is out to impress once again as the prospect of national selection arises again for the 22-year-old backstroke specialist.
“It’s hard to say but Beaver is probably looking the best so far,” Hiddlestone said.
“They’ve just come out of altitude – so you always get great peaks then great troughs form in training after that.”
Beaver’s usual sparring partner Lawson is also on the hunt for more Australian success as the dual Olympian/Commonwealth Games swimmer will take to the water for the 100m freestyle to round out his national campaign.
Former Victorian state record holder Holly Brettle will be out to rise back up the ranking of her beloved individual medley (IM), with the 21-year-old Beaconsfield swimmer set to impress in the 400m IM, qualifying seventh fastest in the country, and the 200m IM (eighth).
“She’s had no injuries which has been a blessing this season,” Hiddlestone said.
“400m IM will be her main event, but she’s got a lot of races.
“Holly has a lot, the most out of all of our guys… it will be good for her to have her main race on the last day to get the sharpness throughout the meet.”
Tynong’s Tyrone Dobrunz is the fourth TigerShark at the nationals and will take on Australia’s best in the three breaststroke disciplines.
The TigerSharks contingent is not only battling for national glory, but a chance to represent Australia at an upcoming international swim meet including the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia and the 2015 World University Games in Gwangju City, South Korea.
