Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Caitlin Dewbery, Ashlyn Dures, Molly Beaver and Emma Collins teamed up to blow their opposition away in the girls 15 years 4x50m freestyle relay.
In the process, they beat the record that had been in place since 1986 by about nine seconds.
The girls also improved the 16 years and opens records, but will have to come back next year and compete in those divisions for the times to count.
The girls swam the race in 2:20.4. Dewbery, the anchor swimmer, was ecstatic to find out the team’s achievement after the race.
She said the girls won by about 25 metres, swimming in lane five.
“It’s not a good lane,” she said.
Her mother Linda was also excited about the team’s achievement.
“I’m in awe about my daughter, and the other swimmers,” she said. “I’m known as the crying mum.
“I’m a big sook. I had a tear in my eye.”
The four girls are all strong swimmers in their own right. Three are Port Macquarie Swimming Club members, while the “ring-in” Collins is a surf swimmer.
Dewbery said the four were really racing against themselves, with their sole purpose recording a good time.
“The rest of the swimming wasn’t that good,” she said. "There weren’t many personal bests swum.”
Racing in the Town’s house – the houses are named after Port’s beaches – the girls helped win the carnival.
“It’s good that all the girls are in the same house,” Dewbery said.
Caitlin looked forward to teaming up with the girls again in the upcoming zone carnival.
She said they should go well, too. “We all swim competitively,” she said.
The girls will also feature in the Country Championships in two weeks’ time.
Caitlin is aiming to make the nationals this year. “I’m not far off the qualifying times,” she said.