His achievements mean he will compete in the 50m freestyle 8-year-old event in the state’s Primary School Sports Association Championships (NSWPSSA) this Thursday, April 11.
Ethan is not just winning 50m freestyle events around the region this year, he is coming first in other swimming disciplines but those events are solely for older age students on this year’s NSW state carnival program.
Competing in the St Mary's Corowa Swimming Carnival on February 20, Ethan won all the Under 8 events: 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly and 50m Breaststroke. He even finished first against older boys in the 50m Butterfly.
In Albury, in the Deanery Swimming Trials for regional selection on February 27, Ethan won 8-year-old 50m Freestyle. In male 8-10 age Butterfly group, he came second.
At Wagga Wagga on March 6, Ethan was first in 8-year-old 50m Freestyle and fifth in 8-10 age group Butterfly.
On April 3, Ethan competed in the MacKillop Championship at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC) where he finished in second place for the 8-year-old 50m Freestyle, losing by 0.11 second!
Ethan will turn eight-years-of-age in August. He swims for the Rutherglen Swimming Club where he trains in summer; in winter he trains at Corowa Aquatic Centre. Ethan trains twice weekly and appreciates the coaching at both clubs. When he joined Rutherglen, Ethan couldn’t do breaststroke or butterfly.
But his learning and advancement in the breaststroke and butterfly disciplines has soared. Representing Rutherglen Swimming Club in the prestigious Victorian Country All Juniors Competition on March 16 and 17, in the 8-year-old age group, Ethan took home two medals, a first in 50m Butterfly and a first in 50m Breaststroke.
Ethan’s mother Su Swen, a champion swimmer in Penang, Malaysia some 20 years ago, also coaches her son.
It has been some 20 years since she swam competitively but loves encouraging and assisting in Ethan’s swimming progress, and is proud of his achievements.
