Even though Emily Nobbs, Oliver McLaughlin and Ethan Crisp “haven’t done much of a lead-up” to next week’s Pacific School Games, Kinross Swim Club coach Kim Taylor is certain his charges are all genuine medal chances.
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Nobbs, McLaughlin and Crisp – who qualified via the NSW All Schools Trial in May – have swum, and swum well, at national events before and Taylor said they’ve all raced well recently.
He says that experience, racing nous and their form puts all three in pretty good stead to claim podium finishes in Adelaide.
“We haven’t done much of a lead-up to it, so it will be interesting to see how they go,” Taylor, a former Australian coach, said.
“But I think they’re all a big chance. Winning gold at these meets is tough, but we’ll definitely be aiming for medals.
“They’ve all swum at [Australian Age Championships] before so they have experience (on the big stage) and they all raced really well at Canberra recently too.
“They raced well at Cowra the week before that too. The times weren’t really, really flash, but their process and the way they constructed their race was, so hopefully a bit of adrenaline will hit and away they’ll go.”
Nobbs, 16 and at Orange Christian School, will compete in the 100 and 200-metre breaststroke events, she’s considered a red-hot chance for both, particularly the former after finishing fourth at nationals in April.
Crisp, 16 and at James Sheahan Catholic High School, will race in three events. He’ll take to the pool in the 200 and 400-metre freestyle events after finishing third in both at the state titles, and will also race in NSW All Schools’ 4x100m relay team.
McLaughlin, 14 and at Kinross, will look for medals in the 50 and 100-metre backstroke events.
The 10th Pacific School Games kick off in Adelaide on December 3 and run through until December 9.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
