Swimming’s Olympic hopefuls in action

Australia’s favourite Olympic swimmers had their final hit out in the pool over the past weekend as part of the NSW State Open Swimming Championships, a lead up event to the Australian Swimming Championships and the 2012 Olympics (London).

Held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, the three day event, which commenced on Friday 10 February, is one of the highest profile swimming competitions of the year, drawing not only the top swimmers from NSW but Australia-wide including James “The Missile” Magnuseen, Geoff Huegill, Libby Trickett, Eamon Sullivan, Matthew Abood, Stephanie Rice, Leisel Jones, Andrew Lautersten and Emily Seebohm.

The Aquatic Centre has hosted the NSW State Championships ever since the venue was opened in 1994. The unique design of its competition pool, from its lack of gutters and its depths, which are instrumental in minimising turbulence, to the water temperature and ozone filtration system have led to it being one of the world’s “fastest” pools. Matched by the venue’s capacity to accommodate crowds of up to 8,500 make it the ideal venue for holding such an event for so many years. 

Building on the legacy from its role as one of the premier competition venues during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the Aquatic Centre managed by Sydney Olympic Park Authority continues to be an instrumental part of developing Australia’s future Olympic athletes. Not only is the centre a premier competition venue, but also a premier training venue and centre of excellence for swimming and diving. World Champion James Magnussen, who at the State Open event won gold in the 100m Freestyle, and up-and-coming swimmer Jessica Ashwood, who won bronze in the 800m Freestyle, are just two names in the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Swim Team based at the centre and trained under the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) High Performance Coach Brant Best.