Valiant Vikings at MSNSW 2023 State Long Course Championships

Report by Kylie Lane, Club Captain

Vikings LC States 2023 Team

A tribe of 23 Viking swimmers dove right into the action at this year’s MSNSW State Long Course Championships held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, Sydney on 1-2 April 2023.

The incredible team swam their hearts out. Some of our swimmers were competing at States for the first time, some returning from injury or a hiatus from swimming. We saw all swimmers competing strongly in their respective age groups, and our club walked away with pride finishing 4th overall, and 3rd from 42 clubs for the highest average point score per swimmer.

Many medals were won and PBs achieved. A total of 19 individual club records and two relay records were broken, with the individual tally as follows:

4: James, Liz N
3: Katrina, Andreas
2: Brian
1: Georgia, Cecelia, Brenda.

With 14 Vikings relay teams racing, like always, these were fun to swim and watch. The highlight of our relays goes to our Women’s 240+ Medley Relay team of Leisa, Kristine, Anne, and Ann with a nail-biting finish, supporters jumping up and down, cheering Ann on to claw back the lead from Oak Flats, only to finish within millimeters of claiming gold, but unfortunately, having to settle for silver. This demonstrated, our teams never give up!

Female Swimmer of the Meet, Elizabeth

Other special mentions are:

Elizabeth - who was awarded Female Swimmer of the Meet for the highest Fina points across five individual events.

Lucy, Adam, Georgia, and Kristi - who attended their first State Championships in Sydney.

Brenda and Katrina - who returned again to racing post-recent injury.

Donna - who organised the team accommodation.

A special thank you to Pete Sharman for volunteering his time over the weekend at the medal table and as always, doing a great job handing out medals under pressure!

Check out the full meet results.