Swimming: Two qualify for world champs, Kent just misses out

Two swimmers booked spots for the world championships in Canada in July on day one of the nationals in Wellington.

Helen Norfolk in the 200 metre individual medley and Moss Burmester in the 200 metre butterfly both went under the qualifying standards in Wednesday night's semifinals.

Norfolk also broke the nine-year-old national record, while Burmester is only half a second away from Anthony Mosse's long standing national mark.

National coaching director Clive Rushton said both times were world class, with Norfolk's time ranking her third in the world this year, and Burmester's ranking him fourth.

Rushton believes Burmester could set an even better time in the final.

He said Burmester's long term aim is next year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Another highlight of the first night came from Kelly Bentley, who smashed the national senior 200 breaststroke record, winning the final of the under 16 competition.

Bentley took three seconds off the old mark, but her time was seven tenths of a second outside the world championships qualifying standard.

Rushton says Bentley has made incredible progress, and has taken 13 seconds off the time she posted at last year's national championships.


Meanwhile, Dean Kent went within a fingertip of qualifying for the world championships on the second day of heats today.


Kent, the Sydney and Athens Olympian, was the top qualifier in the 200m individual medley in the heats at the Kilbirnie Aquatic Centre.


He clocked two minutes 03.11 seconds in his heat, just 0.05sec off the qualifying mark for July's world championships in Montreal.


His North Shore clubmate Corney Swanepoel went within 4/10ths of the second of the Montreal time in topping qualifiers from heats of the 100m butterfly, clocking 53.83sec.- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA