Swimming-Austin sisters at SA National Aquatic Championships |09 April 2010

Shrone leaves today for South Africa where she will meet the younger Shannon who has been training there since mid-January under the guidance of South African 4x100m freestyle Olympic gold medallist and former world short course champion Ryk Neethling.

Sportswoman of the Year 2003 and winner of Seychelles’ only Senior African Swimming Championship gold medal in the 1,500m freestyle event in a record time of 17 minutes 07.28 seconds in Dakar, Senegal, in 2006, Shrone will compete in the freestyle (50m, 100m, 200m and 400m), breaststroke (50m and 100m) and butterfly (50m and 100m).

As for Shannon, who broke one Seychelles record, got two qualification times for the first Youth Olympic Games, five personal best times and five medals – a gold, two silvers and two bronzes – at the five-day Telkom SA Level 3 Championships in East London, South Africa last month, will take part in the freestyle (50m, 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m), butterfly (50m and 100m) and 200m individual medley.

The 11-day swimming festival – from April 12-19 – will feature synchronised swimming, diving, open water swimming and long course swimming.

G. G.