Mike Whitburn – Brunswick Belugas

MSA Nationals 2016 – Day 2

April 22, 2016 Mike Whitburn

The second day of the 41^st National Masters Swimming Championships was highlighted by the very popular 800m freestyle event. Indeed there were so many entrants that heats were conducted with two swimmers per lane, each commencing at opposite ends of the pool.

The boys took up today’s challenge with Duncan, Paul, Vito, Wayne, Raoul and Anthony stepping up on the blocks to make their mark on this gruelling event. Duncan led the Belugas into the “Battle of the Bulge” (no offense intended to those of us with a little extra on the hips) with his heat, posting a time to set the mark for the others.

raoul800m — Raoul among the competitors in the blue-ribbon 800m event.

Heat 5 saw the gauntlet thrown down by Paul, Wayne and Vito. A blistering start by Paul saw him take the lead from the other two at the outset. Nobody was going to spoil this birthday boy’s celebrations. Vito and Wayne tussled to see which of them would make up ground to catch Paul. Youth prevailed with Paul turning to watch his fellow Belugas come in to finish. All posted new club records for their respective age groups.

Anthony and Raoul were in adjacent lanes in heat 7 where these two rivals fought a very close race with Anthony taking the lead at the start. Raoul’s efforts were being thwarted by the other swimmer in his lane who insisted on encroaching on the Belugas’ patch. Officials had to extract this competitor as, despite their instructions from the sidelines, he continued to make it dangerous for Raoul. Undaunted, Raoul was able to claw back Anthony’s lead and eventually post the club record for their age group.

The 800m event was followed by the pool sprint event, the 50m freestyle. The first heat saw a most unusual interpretation of “freestyle” where one competitor, upon his dive into the pool, immediately flipped over to commence a conventional front crawl action but with reverse propulsion. A bit like Michael Jackson’s ‘moonwalk’ in the water. If you’re having a hard time imagining what that might look like, check out the video below.

Moonwalking/swimming the 50m

As you can see, this is not to be confused with the reverse freestyle drill executed in some training regimens. A time of 2:13.10 is an indication of the effort involved in this action.

brad&vaghan — Speedsters Brad Hennessy and Vaughan Mcdonald injected some fearsome pace into proceedings.

All the Belugas hit the water for this dash down the pool. Vaughan, Bradley and Mike were fresh out of the blocks with Mike setting a new club record with his PB. Despite the hard slog in the 800m, Raoul also posted a new club record.

Birthday Boy Paul Turner had every reason to smile on Day 2 of competition, with an outstanding set of performances.

Following birthday wishes sung to Paul with cake and candle (no match!), Paul and Mike were left to tackle the 200m backstroke. Both were able to finish the day with personal bests and club records.

24th Marlins Interclub

February 13, 2016 Mike Whitburn

Saturday was a stinking hot day. However, by late afternoon the cool change had set the atmosphere for another glorious evening at the Harold Holt Memorial Pool. Three intrepid Belugas set forth to ensure the club was noted despite the paltry show of registrants. Duncan Howard, Paul Turner and Mike Whitburn proudly donned their club kit to alert the crowd of our intention to challenge all comers.

10274342_963366513746462_2099708980964281934_n — Mike Whitburn, Duncan Howard and Paul Turner

Paul and Duncan set forth to make their mark in the Patrick Devine 200m Individual Medley. Their valiant efforts saw a second place for each in their age groups and a new club record for Duncan in this event. It is inspirational to see such courage in a gruelling event.

Paul stepped up on the diving blocks for his 100m Breaststroke and didn’t disappoint with a third placing for his age group. Howard and Michael, in adjacent lanes, sprinted with all heart in the 100m Freestyle attempting to leave all others in their wake. Howard, though placed third in his age group, had a mysterious disqualification on the grounds of having broken the start. Mike took second place for his age group and has posted a new club record for this event.

12717459_963369653746148_6863589780473145963_n — Duncan Howard showing exemplary diving technique …

Paul was not content that he had exhausted himself with his earlier efforts so boldly stepped up to the blocks for another 50m of Butterfly. He was still able to leave the water smiling following his charge down the pool.

Paul and Mike then slipped into the water for their 50m Backstroke event. Paul again kept pace with the leaders securing a second place. Mike regained his title for this event.

Duncan and Mike placed times in their 50m Breaststroke which would show up many of their younger competitors. Duncan cruised in to third place and Mike was able to keep his position at the top of his age group. These two made their final dash down the pool in the 50m Freestyle. Mike left the field behind in his age group and Duncan posted a very respectable time for his fifth placing.

There were insufficient numbers for the Belugas to form a relay team for the end of the proceedings despite Paul’s efforts to second a fourth swimmer from another team.

The meet concludes with a meal sponsored by the Malvern Marlins followed by presentations. The Belugas were able to take away medals again this year. Both Paul and Mike took gold for their respective age groups. Duncan should have taken home a medal as well if it had not been for an indiscretion on the blocks.

Congratulations Belugas!