HEIDI SWIMS AT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS; PLACES THIRD IN MEDLEY

Year 9 student Heidi Gstaettner flew to Adelaide over Easter to compete at the 2022 Australian Age Swimming Championships. She qualified to swim a staggering eight events, including her pet events, the 50m and 100m butterfly.

Covid infections throughout Australia meant that she had to home-isolate for a month prior to the meet to minimise the risk of infection. Heidi said: “You prepare for so many months and it could all come crashing down so quickly!”

The hard work and discipline paid off, however. Heidi had a phenomenal meet, and she managed to take huge chunks off her personal best times.

All competitors swim in a preliminary round in the morning and the top 10 swimmers compete again at night for their final ranking. Over the course of five days, Heidi managed to reach the finals in the 50m, 100m and 200m Butterfly events, ending up being ranked as the fifth, fourth and seventh fastest swimmer in her age group in Australia, respectively.

The highlight of the competition came with her being selected to represent WA in the medley relay team as the fastest 13-year-old butterfly swimmer in the state. With the whole stadium going wild cheering the swimmers through their final event, the team managed to step onto the podium with third place!

Congratulations to Heidi for her fantastic achievements at her first national swimming competition!
Photo: Heidi Gstaettner (second right) with other WA swimmers.