Young swimmer brings home gold

She may swim under the radar most of the time, but the Griffith Swim Club has a little pocket rocket in Nicole Taylor.

A multi-class swimmer swimming S15 for the hearing impaired, she had a bit of a load to carry home from the recent Australian National Age and Australian MC Championships on the Gold Coast.

Mum Deb said that Nicole qualified and swam 10 events in the 11 to 14 years sections and won a swarth of medals and ribbons:

• Gold in the 100-metre butterfly.
• Gold in the 100-metre freestyle.
• Silver in the 50-metre butterfly.
• Bronze in the 100-metre breaststroke.
• Three 4th place, two 5th place, and one 6th place.
• Six top 10 ribbons.

Nicole also swam seven personal best times and broke three NSW S15 records in the 50 metres butterfly for 14 years and open, and the 100 metres butterfly for 14 years. These are pending approval.

Her mum said Nicole’s goal for the season was to win gold in the 100-metre butterfly, and she certainly did that.

It is important to note that Nicole swam across the finish line in first place for the majority of her events, even though she didn’t necessarily take first place overall.

In multi-class swimming, there is an international classification structure to ensure that each competitor is given fair odds and taking into account the level of their disability.

“We are so proud,” Mrs Taylor said.

Nicole’s older sister, Samantha also competed at the 2021 Australian Age Championships at Southport on the Gold Coast.

She qualified in the 100-metre and 200-metre breaststroke and swam well on the day.

• Topics:

• Swimming