Lindsey comes of age

By Marc McGowan
LAST week Casey TigerSharks head coach Ben Hiddlestone hailed Trent Lindsey as the swimming club’s best big-time performer.
At the Australian Age Championships, Lindsey backed up the statement, even managing to enhance his already lofty reputation.
Last Wednesday night – the first day of competition – the 15-year-old won the TigerSharks’ inaugural national medal in the 200m individual medley.
The performance capped an amazing rise in the event, which saw him barely qualify for the state final in January before saluting from lane eight.
Lindsey then slashed two seconds off his personal-best time in the gruelling race at the Australian Age Championships to qualify fourth fastest for the final.
He took a further one-and-a-half seconds from his qualifying time to also touch in fourth spot in the final, winning the bronze medal due to third placegetter Mitchell Donaldson being ineligible as a New Zealander.
Lindsey’s achievement started Casey’s championships with a bang and the club’s efforts at the national showcase remained at stellar levels.
Team-mate McKenzie Cunningham, 13, made sure the TigerSharks finished the competition on a high, also claiming bronze in the 200m backstroke on the last night of the meet on Sunday.
Lindsey also finished fourth in the 200m freestyle, a display Hiddlestone rated higher than his 200m individual medley swim, and was just outside the top 10 in the 100m and 400m freestyle.
Their individual feats headlined Casey’s showing, which saw seven swimmers accumulate 14 finals appearances.
The TigerSharks finished 32nd in the club rankings – up from 55th last year.
Adding to the club’s quality exhibition was medals to Brad York, 18, and Aleysha Tokai, 14, as part of Victorian relay teams.
Former Bayside Swimming Club member Tokai reached two individual finals and finished just outside the top-10 in her other two swims, but her points did not go towards Casey’s tally as she has not been with the club long enough.
Together with 13-year-old Jemma Phillips, who made two finals in her debut at this level, she will bolster the TigerSharks’ female stocks.
Fifteen-year-old Craig Watson performed below expectations after suffering with a right ankle injury in the lead-up, but still managed to qualify for three finals, with a best result of fourth in the 200m backstroke.
Hiddlestone feels the club’s results were the culmination of the hard work his charges put in throughout the season.
“We’re receiving more recognition and our opposition is more wary – the kids have done a great job,” he said.
“I was stoked when Trent won his medal. A lot of coaches were complementing me because the coaches realise as well and are looking out the corner of their eyes at who is doing what.
“It’s a good feeling for the team and me. They get gold embroidered finalists ribbons, but coming back with a medal is something different.”
Not surprisingly, nerves afflicted several of the swimmers and forced Hiddlestone to develop techniques to counter them.
“McKenzie, Tyrone (Dobrunz) and Jemma were all really nervous and their nerves really got to them,” he said.
“When they were warming up, routine things went out the window and it does affect their performances.
“We ended up getting them to warm up much closer to their events and they were literally out of the warm-up pool and straight to the marshalling room, which seemed to work really well.”
Hiddlestone praised the efforts of team managers Sue Dobrunz and Ann York, who fed, transported and looked after the general well-being of the athletes during the competition.