Coast swimmer smashes more records

Red Beach Surf Club swimmer Zoe Pedersen is continuing to break records.

Fresh from winning gold for New Zealand in the 50m butterfly at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Romania in August, Pedersen lined up at the Surf Life Saving Northern Region Pool Rescue Championships this month.

The Whangaparāoa College student swam in two individual events, setting two new New Zealand records.

In the U19 women’s 50m manikin carry, she clocked 33.52sec, breaking her own record of 33.90sec, set at the Lifesaving World Championships on the Gold Coast last year.

She then won the 100m rescue medley manikin in 1min 8.80sec, shaving .06sec off a 10-year-old record set by Samantha Lee of Lyall Bay Surf Club. Lee’s time, set at the 2015 German World Cup while competing for New Zealand, also stood as a world record for six years.

Pedersen’s new time is an unofficial U19 world record and a New Zealand open record. She now aims to better her times at the AON New Zealand Pool Rescue Championships held September 26 to 28.

Another Red Beach competitor, Dylan Blanchard, also claimed a record. He set a new time of 55.83sec in the U17 men’s 100m manikin tow with fins, eclipsing the 56.09sec set by clubmate Jasper Cornish at the 2022 championships.

From left, Top, Zoe Pedersen at last year’s Pool Rescue Championships. Dylan Blanchard after setting a new Pool Rescue record in the U17 Male 100m Manikin Tow with Fins. Zoe Pedersen (red cap, centre) at the start of an event. Zoe Pedersen with Red Beach clubmates Jono Swanepoel and Jasper Cornish. Swimmers await the starter’s whistle at the SLSNR Pool Rescue Championships.