Bathurst swimmers continue purple patch of form at Orange meeting

Held across Saturday and Sunday at the Orange Aquatic Centre, Bathurst swimmers achieved a combined 90 personal bests, 14 first placings, 16 second placings and 14 third placings, as well as four Country Championships qualifying times and four junior state qualifying times.

Overall, the club finished third behind Albury and Dubbo clubs that came first and second respectively.

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Bathurst Swim Club race secretary Danni Johnson was thrilled with the amount of personal bests the club's swimmers achieved.

"We've just had a few weeks off and the kids have just started their training block, so to get so many personal bests was just amazing," she said.

Ms Johnson said Sienna Whalan's performance at the two-day carnival was the major highlight, on a weekend that proved fruitful for the competing Bathurst swimmers.

"The highlight was Sienna Whalan. She's so close to that national time and it's so great to have every kid there, cheering her on in her 100 metre breaststroke," she said.

"She just missed it, but she still got a personal best. She's 0.27 seconds off that 100 metre breaststroke time. She's got until April to get it and we're all pretty confident she'll get there."

"Jack Mulligan, he's 12, and he was swimming times that some of the older kids can only dream of. He swam his first ever 800 metre freestyle and absolutely smashed it. He's gained a junior state time from that.

"Brody Cashman - he's from a great breaststroke family - went into the 100 metre breaststroke already having a country time and blew another nine seconds off that. He's just amazing. Everything he set his mind to that day, he got a PB. His older brother Caleb was just the same.

"Violet Henson swam her first ever 1500 metre. It probably wasn't the time she was after but for a first go at it, she did so well.

"Brooklyn Whalan, she's only 10, but she's already got some really good state and country times for butterfly. She managed to take four and half minutes of her 100 metre breaststroke, to get another PB. At 10, that's just amazing. She's swimming, in some of her heats, against 14, 15-year-olds. She's been phenomenal and she'll go places.

"The youngest, Amelia Cashman, just turned seven and she decided she wanted to swim the 50 metre freestyle in under a minute, which is still a big time for someone her age, but she did it. She took 10 seconds off her PB."

Ms Johnson was full of praise for the Bathurst Swim Club coaches.

"I can't praise Josh Stapley, Emilie Miller and Sophia Mara enough," she said.

"Josh came in about 18 months ago and the club was at a real low and he's just built up the kids' spirit. Emilie coming onboard, you can't get more inspirational than her story. Sophia relates really well with those teenage girls.

"Everyone now has someone they can fit with and the club has grown from that. We've got record numbers for registrations, so we just go from strength to strength."