Here at the Times, we called it last year that Olivia Bates of the Howick Pakuranga Swimming Club (HPK) was an athlete to look out for in the future, and she has continued to prove that theory.
The 15-year-old was recently crowned the top overall female swimmer for the Kohi Beach Swim series after topping the points table.
The series featured 13 races from October 27 to March 23 and is New Zealand’s largest weekly open water swim series.
Olivia’s coach Jana Wilkitzki says the HPK racing club is very proud of her achievements in the series.
On Saturday, March 25, the New Zealand Swimming National Secondary Schools competition brought swimmers from all around the country together at the Blue Lake in Rotorua as part of the Banana Boat Ocean Swim Series.
Olivia took to the water, representing Epsom Girls Grammar school, in the three distances available – 500m, 1km and 3.5km – in some hard back-to-back racing.
She brought her form from the recent National Open Water Champs where she also took the the 7.5km female title.
In the 3.5km race, Olivia secured a third-place finish overall, and finished first for her age group.
She quickly followed this up in the 1km race where she secured a hard-fought second place by just two seconds after she slipped while exiting the water in the foot race to the finish line. She still finished first in her age group.
In the final race of the day, the 500m, Olivia again placed second and first in her age group.
Olivia will certainly continue to be one swimmer to keep an eye on in the future, especially at the age group nationals which are approaching.
“Olivia is a young swimmer who has trained with us for a few years already,” says Wilkitzki.
“Her main focus is pool swimming and at the moment we are in the last stretch of our preparations for the age group swimming championships,”
The 2023 Apollo Projects New Zealand Age Group Swimming Championships are at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre from April 12 to April 16.
“Olivia’s open water success is a great example that with dedication, it can be done,” Wilkitzki says.
