FAIRWEATHER, CLAREBURT HEADLINE STRONG NZ SWIMMING TEAM FOR PARIS OLYMPICS
Erika Fairweather and Lewis Clareburt will lead a large contingent of NZ swimmers to this year's Paris Olympics.
Nine athletes will represent New Zealand in France, with Clareburt and Fairweather the two strongest medal hopes.
Clareburt won the 400m individual medley at this year’s Swimming World Championships in Doha, while Fairweather picked up her title in the 400m freestyle, as well as winning silver in the 200m freestyle and bronze in the 800m freestyle.
"I'm so keen to get to Paris," said Fairweather.
"It's always special getting to compete at this level, so much hard work goes on behind the scenes to prepare for the Olympics and I can't wait to showcase it."
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be an Olympian, let alone going to my second Games," added Clareburt.
"It's a huge privilege, I can't wait to represent New Zealand and put the pūkana on the world stage."
Tokyo Olympian Eve Thomas - who will contest four events - joins the duo as the only three competitors with prior Olympics experience
The other six athletes will make their Olympic debuts in Paris, after qualifying at the New Zealand Swimming Championships earlier this month.
Hazel Ouwehand was one of the revelations of the national champs, blitzing the women's 100m butterfly with an NZ record time of 57.43s, almost half a second under the Paris Olympic Games qualifying time.
"Going to the Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was super young so it’s pretty special to see it realised," said Ouwehand.
"I'm really excited for the Games. Itss going to be an amazing field of athletes and I can’t wait to put all my hard work and training into action."
Kane Follows earns a long-awaited call-up to international representative honours, after narrowly missing out on selection over the past few years. The 27-year-old will compete in the 200m backstroke.
"This has been a grind," Follows admitted. "I've missed a lot of teams but I’ve stuck at it, I’ve given so much to the sport and it feels so good to get this result.
"Sport is a lot of ups and downs but it's all worth it for this feeling."
Sprinters Taiko Torepe-Ormsby and Cameron Gray are the other men in the Olympic squad. At the national champs, Torepe-Ormsby recorded an NZ record in the 50m freestyle (21.86s) to qualify for Paris, while Gray beat his own New Zealand record in the 100m Freestyle.
The team is rounded out by Caitlin Deans and Laticia Leigh Transom, who will contest the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay alongside Fairweather and Thomas.
Swimming New Zealand Olympic programme lead Gary Francis says the squad has huge potential.
"To have nine quality athletes heading to the Games is fantastic," said Francis.
"We've got a great mix of experienced campaigners and exciting young talent in this team. We were thrilled with the times these athletes swum at the New Zealand Swimming Championships earlier this month and we're expecting some special performances in Paris in a few months-time."
The Paris 2024 swimming competition will be contested from July 27 to August 4 at the Paris La Defense Arena, the largest indoor events venue in Europe.
NZ swimming team for Paris Olympics:
Erika Fairweather – Women’s 400m freestyle, 200m free, 800m free, women's 4x200m freestyle relay
Eve Thomas - Women's 400m freestyle, 800m free, 1500m free, women's 4x200m freestyle relay
Lewis Clareburt – Men's 400m individual medley, 200m IM, 200m butterfly
Hazel Ouwehand – Women's 100m butterfly
Cameron Gray – Men's 100m freestyle
Kane Follows – Men's 200m backstroke
Taiko Torepe-Ormsby – Men's 50m freestyle
Caitlin Deans – Women's 4x200m freestyle relay
Laticia Leigh Transom - Women’s 4x200m freestyle relay