Lennard Bremer (front) with Patrick Hoey, Tom England, Justine Spurr and Chris Paunich.
Camera IconLennard Bremer (front) with Patrick Hoey, Tom England, Justine Spurr and Chris Paunich. Credit: Supplied/Andrew Ritchie

Westside’s eyes on the prize

Sarah Motherwell, Guardian ExpressWestern Suburbs Weekly

Head coach Paul Bruce said the team’s recent achievements at the National Short Course Championships, including finishing as the top WA club, indicated they had a good shot at the trials.

‘We’ve got some of the best athletes in Australia and we’re doing it on a shoestring,’ Bruce said.

‘Anyone who scores medals is in the running ” nothing is guaranteed of course but we like to say we’re on track.

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‘The biggest challenge for us is funding – for us to compete at this level we need support from the community.’

At the short course championships, Lennard Bremer won silver in the 200m breaststroke while Bobby Jovanovich won bronze in the 100m backstroke.

The pair also won silver in the 4x100m medley relay along with teammates Ryan Steenkamp and Pat Hoey.

Mr Bruce said that at the event every athlete achieved a personal best (PB) at least once and the club had a 90 per cent PB rate overall.

‘It’s virtually unheard of at a national open competition,’ he said.

Club swimmer Katherine Downie was selected for the Commonwealth Games Shadow Squad after winning silver in the 200m individual medley and also bronze in the 100m backstroke at the International Paralympic Committee World Championships.

The Westside Christchurch Swim Club is holding a cocktail fundraising event on October 26 at the Nedlands Golf Course with money raised going to help the swimmers aiming for the 2016 Rio Olympics.