WAIS Divers Make Strong Start to 2015
WAIS Diving Program athletes have kicked-off 2015 with successful appearances at the Gold Coast and Brisbane Grand Prix events.
15 year old WAIS scholarship holder Teju Williamson was arguably the most impressive, with a second place finish in the women’s platform in Brisbane qualifying her for the Australian national senior squad – a selection that will allow her to compete for nomination at this year’s world championships.
With the FINA Aquatic World Championship titles being held in Russia from July 24- August 9, selection trials will take place in April, with Williamson now eligible to contest.
WAIS athlete Joshua Ong will be looking to build on the gains of the last 18 months, with the 2014 world junior championship representative impressing at the Gold Coast meet, after recording wins in the 3m individual and synchro.
Ong went on to finish fifth in the 3m individual in Brisbane before bouncing back with another win in the synchro to round out an impressive start to his 2015 campaign.
Williamson – performed a curbed set of dives in her opening routine on the Gold Coast, with the truncated difficulty aimed at easing back into competition following a training recess over the Christmas and New Year period.
Her return to full program was eye catching in Brisbane however, with the qualification to the national squad a worthy reward for her early season form.
WAIS coach Shannon Roy was pleased with Williamson’s performances, especially considering a lead-in process which he described as “unconventional” for competition so soon after a training break.
“Teju eased into her competition schedule due to her being a 10m specialist, which meant she did a watered down version of her platform dives for the first Grand Prix, and then focused all her attention on the second Grand Prix in Brisbane with the goal of aiming for National Squad selection,” Roy explained.
“A gritty performance saw her reach that goal and she is now eligible for senior team selection along with the World Championships trials which will be held in April. At only 15 years of age, Teju is the youngest member of the National Squad by three years,” he said.
With the WAIS program aimed at developing long term athletes capable of Olympic selections geared for Tokyo 2020, there were also encouraging signs for developing divers Tamara Irvine and Alex Smedley.
Irvine recorded top 10 finishes in both platform and 3m events on the Gold Coast, whilst Smedley snared silver on platform in Brisbane.
“Tamara and Alex both had alternative competition lists of dives in order to continue with their development goals set for later in the year,” Roy said.
“Despite the low numbers (of competitors) in the men’s platform events, Alex still competed well and scored a PB in the prelims of the platform event in Brisbane, and Tamara put in a great performance in the individual 3m event on The Gold Coast.”