Records fly but top swimmer to sit out world champs
Three women have met qualifying standards in the 50m butterfly for next month's World Aquatics championships, all in lifetime best times. Two were in New Zealand record time; one was close to a Commonwealth record.
It's the first time three Kiwis have gone under the World Aquatics qualifying standard in the same sprint race. However, only two per nation can enter the same event at the World Aquatics championships in Singapore, where swimming heats commence on July 27.
Despite ranking fourth in the world this year, Paris Olympian Hazel Ouwehand has elected not to compete in Singapore, preferring to focus on preparation for next year's Commonwealth Games. This means third placed Laura Quilter attends her first world championships, aged 33, with secondary school student Zoe Pedersen debuting as an Aquablack.
Ouwehand smashed her 50m butterfly New Zealand open record by nearly half a second at the national championships in Auckland on May 23. She clocked 25.43 seconds – a second outside the world record.
It's an easy date to remember; Ouwehand's time is just 0.23 seconds off a Commonwealth record. She is now the third fastest ever in the Commonwealth, and ranks fourth in the world this year, currently making her New Zealand's highest internationally ranked swimmer.
Ouwehand knew she could do a lifetime best. She even boldly told her 81,000 Instagram followers she would clock well under her NZ record of 25.88 seconds, set at last year's national championships.
'That was the goal. I knew that I had it in me; but to go 25.43 seconds I'm beyond happy,' she says. 'I expected to do a personal best; I just didn't expect it to be as much of a PB as it was – it's faster than my 50m freestyle PB.'
Ouwehand's time was quicker than second at last year's world championships. It was so quick, it would have got her a medal had she swum the 50m freestyle at the national championships, but in butterfly. That's permitted, given the discipline is called freestyle.
Six swimmers will debut as Aquablacks in Singapore, four in 50m sprint events. What will be a focus is that 50m butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke events are on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic programme for the first time.
'That's certainly significant from where we sit, and from where High Performance Sport New Zealand sits,' says Swimming New Zealand's head of high performance, Graeme Maw.
'We're pretty excited that we seem to have some very good 50m swimmers, and the majority are based in New Zealand where we have very good quality and a bit of depth.
'We want to support them to achieve what they are capable of doing.'
Zoe Pedersen competes on day 1 of the nationals in Auckland last year. Photo: Simon Watts/www.bwmedia.co.nz @bwmedianz
Ouwehand was followed by Pedersen, a student at Whangaparaoa College, who at 26.15 seconds, was quicker than the winner at the last World Junior championships. Pedersen now ranks second on the New Zealand all-time list and has recently turned 18, so also set an age group national record.
'When I saw that time, I was so excited – it was such a good PB for me,' Pedersen says. 'It was a shock – I did not expect 26.15. Being 18 and qualifying is so cool.'
She has also qualified for four events, two in butterfly and two in freestyle, for her second World Junior championships, to be held in Romania in August. After five days back home from the world championships., she will then travel to Romania where she is targeting a medal.
'I can't wait to continue this adventure and see what happens – I want to go back there and be on the podium. Obviously, I want to PB and I think I can,' she says.
'Going under 26 seconds will be insane. That will just carry me along forever.'
Laura Quilter at the nationals in 2024. Photo: Simon Watts/www.bwmedia.co.nz @bwmedianz
Third was Quilter who is the first self-coached athlete to qualify for a pinnacle swimming event. Her 26.22 seconds 50m butterfly time ranks her third on the New Zealand all-time rankings.
'I swam a huge lifetime best,' she says. 'I'm still in a bit of disbelief, but I'm so excited to find new ways to swim even faster.'
The butterfly event was one of seven events – three of which are 50m sprints – where two or more swimmers qualified for Singapore. That's a big increase from three events for the 2024 world championships.
Ouwehand, who also works part time as an accountant, raised a few eyebrows when she announced in April that she was not going to compete at the worlds.
Ouwehand's long-term goal is to compete at her second Olympics in 2028, aged 28, but first, she has her eye on two butterfly medals at next year's Commonwealth Games.
'A final is not good enough.'
Two months ago, she was in a moonboot after an injury, but intends to compete at the swimming World Cup, to be held in North America in October, in preparation for the Commonwealth Games, instead of competing next month,
However, dropping her time by nearly half a second further last month almost led her to reconsider.
'There are a lot of factors that contributed: health, rest, training, finances, but I don't need to go. The main thing to note is that it is not in my swim plan devised by my coach and I,' Ouwehand says. 'For me the big goal is Commonwealth Games next year – but I'm thrilled for Laura.'
Quilter, who works as a nurse, initially hoped to break the 50m freestyle national record to become the first woman under 25 seconds. She fell short but described her 50m butterfly qualification as a 'silver lining'. She last competed internationally at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and retired from swimming eight years ago. She recently started training again, three times a week, to get her first qualifying time in an individual event.
'The last time I represented New Zealand was 11 years ago at the Commonwealth Games, and even then, it was as part of a relay team,' she says. 'This will be my first time qualifying for a pinnacle international event in an individual event, and I've done it as a 32-year-old, self-coached athlete.'
Maw's reaction: 'It blew me away. She's self-coached, self-guided, and works incredibly hard'.
For the first time in many years, most swimmers must fund just under half of the costs to compete at the world championships, although the top three are fully funded by High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) through the tailored athlete pathway support programme.
Funding was a small component in Ouwehand's decision to bypass the world championships; she does not receive HPSNZ funding. Additionally, she can compete in more events at the World Cup. But didn't Swimming New Zealand bosses encourage her to reconsider?
'Oh yeah, they did, especially after that 50m butterfly. [Head coach] Graham Hill tried his darned best to encourage me to go to world champs, but the answer was still no,' Ouwehand says. 'A good solid training block is far more beneficial for me. And as much as it sucks not to be funded, I have survived to this point.'
Maw says: 'We completely respect her own decision making. She's got clear aspirations for 2026, and she sees this as the best route to do that. I think that's very mature decision-making.'
Of women, only Olympians Eve Thomas and Erika Fairweather receive HPSNZ funding.
This year, the team to World Juniors is to receive funding assistance, whereas in previous years it was self-funded. This has certainly assisted swimmers like Pedersen.
'If that hadn't have happened, I would not have been able to go on both trips,' she says.
She was also pleased to read the April announcement from World Aquatics that all 50m events, not just 50m freestyle, will be added to the 2028 Olympic programme for the LA Olympics, which gives her greater motivation to lower her sprint times.
'It's so cool. It almost changes everything, but now that the 50's are at the Olympics, the times are going to get so much quicker.'
'It's helps make thing a bit easier as my 50m butterfly is better than my 100,' Ouwehand said.
Female swimmers off to the World Junior championships are Zoe Pedersen, Monique Wieruszowski, Milan Glintmeyer, Alyssa Lawson and Alyssa Tapper.
Zoe Pedersen, Laura Quilter, Caitlin Deans, Eve Thomas, Amber George, Savannah-Eve Martin, Erika Fairweather, and Milana Tapper are competing at the World Championships.
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Pedersen now ranks second on the New Zealand all-time list and has recently turned 18, so also set an age group national record. 'When I saw that time, I was so excited – it was such a good PB for me,' Pedersen says. 'It was a shock – I did not expect 26.15. Being 18 and qualifying is so cool.' She has also qualified for four events, two in butterfly and two in freestyle, for her second World Junior championships, to be held in Romania in August. After five days back home from the world championships., she will then travel to Romania where she is targeting a medal. 'I can't wait to continue this adventure and see what happens – I want to go back there and be on the podium. Obviously, I want to PB and I think I can,' she says. 'Going under 26 seconds will be insane. That will just carry me along forever.' Laura Quilter at the nationals in 2024. Photo: Simon Watts/ @bwmedianz Third was Quilter who is the first self-coached athlete to qualify for a pinnacle swimming event. Her 26.22 seconds 50m butterfly time ranks her third on the New Zealand all-time rankings. 'I swam a huge lifetime best,' she says. 'I'm still in a bit of disbelief, but I'm so excited to find new ways to swim even faster.' The butterfly event was one of seven events – three of which are 50m sprints – where two or more swimmers qualified for Singapore. That's a big increase from three events for the 2024 world championships. Ouwehand, who also works part time as an accountant, raised a few eyebrows when she announced in April that she was not going to compete at the worlds. Ouwehand's long-term goal is to compete at her second Olympics in 2028, aged 28, but first, she has her eye on two butterfly medals at next year's Commonwealth Games. 'A final is not good enough.' 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She recently started training again, three times a week, to get her first qualifying time in an individual event. 'The last time I represented New Zealand was 11 years ago at the Commonwealth Games, and even then, it was as part of a relay team,' she says. 'This will be my first time qualifying for a pinnacle international event in an individual event, and I've done it as a 32-year-old, self-coached athlete.' Maw's reaction: 'It blew me away. She's self-coached, self-guided, and works incredibly hard'. For the first time in many years, most swimmers must fund just under half of the costs to compete at the world championships, although the top three are fully funded by High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) through the tailored athlete pathway support programme. Funding was a small component in Ouwehand's decision to bypass the world championships; she does not receive HPSNZ funding. Additionally, she can compete in more events at the World Cup. But didn't Swimming New Zealand bosses encourage her to reconsider? 'Oh yeah, they did, especially after that 50m butterfly. [Head coach] Graham Hill tried his darned best to encourage me to go to world champs, but the answer was still no,' Ouwehand says. 'A good solid training block is far more beneficial for me. And as much as it sucks not to be funded, I have survived to this point.' Maw says: 'We completely respect her own decision making. She's got clear aspirations for 2026, and she sees this as the best route to do that. I think that's very mature decision-making.' Of women, only Olympians Eve Thomas and Erika Fairweather receive HPSNZ funding. This year, the team to World Juniors is to receive funding assistance, whereas in previous years it was self-funded. This has certainly assisted swimmers like Pedersen. 'If that hadn't have happened, I would not have been able to go on both trips,' she says. She was also pleased to read the April announcement from World Aquatics that all 50m events, not just 50m freestyle, will be added to the 2028 Olympic programme for the LA Olympics, which gives her greater motivation to lower her sprint times. 'It's so cool. It almost changes everything, but now that the 50's are at the Olympics, the times are going to get so much quicker.' 'It's helps make thing a bit easier as my 50m butterfly is better than my 100,' Ouwehand said. Female swimmers off to the World Junior championships are Zoe Pedersen, Monique Wieruszowski, Milan Glintmeyer, Alyssa Lawson and Alyssa Tapper. Zoe Pedersen, Laura Quilter, Caitlin Deans, Eve Thomas, Amber George, Savannah-Eve Martin, Erika Fairweather, and Milana Tapper are competing at the World Championships.
