Australian Age Championships: Victoria’s Latest Rising Star Henry Allan Headlines Record Assault On Night Five
Victorian backstroking find Henry Allan has led a six pack of Australia’s brightest stars who lit up the Brisbane Aquatic Centre on a record tumbling Night Five of the National Age Swimming Championships.
Allan (Bendigo East, VIC) rocketed into the Australian All-Time 100m backstoke Top Ten with his record-breaking time of 53.73 to lower his own 16 years National record for the third time over the past five months.
He jumps ahead of one of Swimming Victoria’s favourite swimming sons in triple Sydney 2000 Olympic medallist Matt Welsh on the Australian All-Time Top Ten.
RECORD ONE: Victoria’s latest age star Henry Allan greets the judge with another Australian Record. Photo Courtesy Bec Ohlwein/Swimming Australia.
100 Metres Backstroke – Australian All-Time Rankings
World Record 51.60 Thomas Ceccon (Ita)
52.11 Mitch Larkin
52.97 Hayden Stoeckel
53.10 Ashley Delaney
53.38 Bradley Woodward
53.43 Isaac Cooper
53.47 Josh Beaver
53.55 Ben Treffers
53.59 William Yang
53.73 Henry Allan
53.78 Matt Welsh
Just last month in Sydney the talented teenager won the NSW Open 100m backstroke title in impressive style, breaking his own Australian 16 Years record into the bargain with his time of 54.23 (26.26).
A time faster than Olympians Isaac Cooper (55.07) and Andrew Lauterstein (55.44) had swum at the same age, leaving Enoch Robb (Griffith, QLD) 55.21 and Joshua Edwards-Smith (Griffith University, QLD) 55.38 in his wake.
Henry had earlier smashed his own Australian 16 Years 50m backstroke record not once but twice in one day, lowering it to 25.00 in the NSW final where he beat Paris Olympians Zac Incerti and Bradley Woodward.
Allan and coach Jordan have recently spent time working with Olympic gold medal coach Craig Jackson in the Melbourne Vic Centre program at MSAC.
His record run started last December when he lowered Olympian Andrew Lauterstein’s previous mark.
Earlier in the evening Allan was only just outside Jayden Hadler’s 2011 Australian Age record in winning the 16 years 50m butterfly in 24.59 – 0.28 outside the London Olympian’s time of 24.31.
Allan was last night joined by Bryce Krause (Fairholme/Toowoomba QLD), Christopher Montana (Trinity Grammar, NSW) and Koa Stotz (Somerset, QLD), Sienna Toohey (Albury, NSW) and Ainsley Trotter (Bond, QLD) in a night of sizzling times.
In all, five records were broken tonight:
Krause bettered his own National record in the 14 years 50m backstroke – set on Night Four in the winning Queensland relay – touching the wall in 26.41.
Two-metre-tall Stotz punched the air in celebrating his second National record at this meet, winning the 14 years 100m breaststroke in 1:04.21 -taking 0.2 off Olympian Matthew Wilson’s 2013 mark of 1:04.44.
RECORD THREE: Koa Stotz makes a splash after setting his Australian Record.. Photo Courtesy Bec Ohlwein/Swimming Australia.
Then Trinity Grammar NSW’s Christopher Montana claimed his second National record of this meet – winning the 15 years 50m breaststroke in 28.47 – taking 0.59 off Haig Buckingham’s 2020 record of 29.06.
RECORD FOUR: Christopher Montana all smiles after his Australian record Photo Courtesy Bec Ohlwein/Swimming Australia.
Before Bond University’s Ainsley Trotter ripped out a 27.88 in the 17 years 50m backstroke to set an Australian All Comers’ record which bettering the time of 28.08 set by multiple Olympic gold medallist Mollie O’Callaghan, four years ago.
RECORD FIVE: Ainsley Trotter in a lane of her own in Brisbane. Photo Courtesy Bec Ohlwein/Swimming Australia.
Already having made a name for herself with her Australian Age record in the 100m breaststroke on Night three, NSW 16-year-old Sienna Toohey again impressed in the 200m breaststroke (2:27.92) – winning her third gold of this meet, adding to the 100m breaststroke and 200 IM.
Coached by Wayne Gould, Toohey beat next best Lily Koch (2:28.90) by a second with Amelie Smith (2:29.35) third.
The rise of Toohey has come at the perfect time for the Dolphins’ breaststroke stocks following the retirements of Olympic medallists Jenna Strauch and Chelsea Hodges.
And in the men’s 18 years 200m freestyle featured Cranbrook’s Marcus Da Silva surging in the back end of the race to stop the clock at 1:48.19 ahead of WA’s Tex Cross (1:49.32) and Xavier Collins 1:49.48.
In other events:
It was double trouble in the boys’ 15-years 400m freestyle with twins Lincoln and Isaac Wearing claiming first and second respectively. For Lincoln it was his second gold of the meet while Isaac edged out Luke Lee to secure silver and his first 2025 Nationals medal.
Australian Age star Macey Sheridan, one of 11 Northern Territory swimmers competing in Brisbane, won gold in the girls’ 15-years 100m backstroke in 1:03.12, holding off Chandler QLD’s, Dory Lee (1:03.80) and Somerset, QLD’s Jessica Melo (1:04.19).
In the girls’ 14-years 400m freestyle, Queensland swimmers reigned supreme with Miami’s Jessica Conradplacing first, Molly Bawden from Kawana Waters in second (4:23.07) and Ava Hogan from Woogaroo third (4:24.94). Impressively, Conrad shaved almost 10 seconds off her seed time to win her first gold of this meet with a time of 4:20.57.
Nicholas Stoupas (Caulfield Aquatics, VIC), coached by two-time Olympian Kenrick Monk secured gold in the boys’ 17-years 200m backstroke in 2:17.11.
His fellow Caulfield Aquatics, clubmate Thomas Sutherland dead-heated for second with Ned Cane (SOPAC, NSW ) when they touched in at 2:19.55.
