Magnificent swimming, marvellous medals and much fun in Melbourne at the 2025 MSA National Championships
Report by Kristi Ruus, Club Captain & Caz Makin, Publicity Officer
From 8 to 12 April 2025, 16 intrepid Vikings headed to Melbourne for some PBs, good chats, and general fun at the 2025 Masters Swimming Australia National Championships. The Championships were held in Long Course format at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC).
First, for some stats, thanks to Ann Reid for compiling…
Our Vikings swimmers competed in 108 of the 121 individual events entered across the 5 days.
We entered 9 relays, but unfortunately, one of our swimmers, Caz Makin, was smashed in the face by an incorrectly installed backstroke ledge at the start, so we had to withdraw from that relay due to a bloody nose!
Medals for individual events were as follows:
Lisa Haureliuk (40-44): 2 Silver
Erin Lockley (40-44): 1 Gold and 1 Bronze
Elizabeth Merenda (45-49): 3 Gold, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze
Caz Makin (55-59): 1 Gold and 1 Bronze, plus 1st place on Female 55-59 overall point score!
Anne Smyth (65-69): 1 Gold and 2 Silver
Cameron Zerner (45-59): 1 Gold
Cameron Boland (45-49): 1 Silver
Michael Peedom (80-84): 5 Silver … our most consistent swimmer!
Total individual medals: 7 Gold, 11 Silver, and 3 Bronze
Two medals for relays were won in the 4 x 50m Freestyle relays:
Mixed 160+ Gold to Cameron Zerner, Elizabeth Merenda, Lisa Haureliuk, Cameron Boland
Women’s 240+ Silver to Caz Makin, Ann Reid, Jeanette Droop, Anne Smyth
Tuggeranong scored 523 overall club points to finish in 10th place from 118 clubs.
17 Individual Club Records were broken as follows: Elizabeth Mernda 7, JAnne Smyth 4, Cameron Zerner 2; Graham Clews 2, Erin Lockley 1; Jeanette Droop 1; Cameron Boland 1.
Three Relay Club Records were also broken as follows:
Women’s 240+ 4 x 50m Freestyle (Caz, Ann R, Jeanette Anne S)
Men’s 240+ 4 x 50m Medley (Graham, John, Cameron Z, Michael)
Mixed 160+ 4 x 50m Freestyle (Cameron Z, Elizabeth, Lisa., Cameron B)
A NSW State Record broken by Elizabeth Merenda in the 200m Individual Medley 45-49 age group.
Now, to a few personal highlights from some our swimmers:
Jeanette Droop: Was pleased with her 50 Fly time after nursing her pickleball elbow for a few months and was stoked with the team’s silver medal in the Freestyle relay. She also loved exploring St Kilda and South Melbourne, riding trams with Lucy, walking around Albert Park, and catching up with her daughter for dinner. She found great Italian food, terrific gelato, and “thoroughly enjoyed a cold pint or two” whilst waiting for her flight home.
Lucy Jesiolowski: Pushed herself out of her comfort zone and was pleased with her swims, had a great time meeting new people, getting to know clubmates a bit better, and being in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere. She’s now thinking about how she can improve next year.
Caz Makin: Was delighted with her 50 Butterfly time being back at where it was 2 years ago, and the silver medal in the ladies 4x50m 240+ Freestyle Relay with long-time team mates. Caz had a great week hanging out with her QLD buddies in their share house, plus catching up with Tuggers team mates for their club dinner and attending the MSA presentation dinner with lots of dancing and wine!
Elizabeth Merenda: Loved watching Kristi go under 50 seconds for the first time in 50m Breaststroke, seeing Erin win her first National medal for 100m Backstoke (a stroke she hated as a kid) and seeing Cam B swim a 25-second 50m Freestyle final leg in the 4x50 Mixed Medley relay to bring it home for the team!
Ann Reid: Had a great time catching up with “annual” friends and boogying at the presentation dinner with the Superfins.
Kristi Ruus: Enjoyed roadtripping and hanging out with Liesl for the week, and her presentation dinner origami penguins, eating Italian food, cheering on Lucy in her first nationals relays, setting some new PB’s in the 50m Freestyle, 50m Breasktroke and the 400m Freesytle, Also, being regaled by teammates about the Aqua Shop lady trying to squeeze them into ridiculously tight race suits, catching up with old friends, making new friends, and watching Cam’s ridiculously fast relay leg!
Anne Smyth: Loved being part of the relay team with Caz, Ann, and Jeanette, where they swam their way to silver, and was very pleased with her swims (400m IM gold, 200m & 100m Butterfly silver).
Special mention to Ann Reid for officiating, Pete Sharman for his medal table marvels, and everyone who did their bit to help with timekeeping.
Thanks also to John Collis, Michael Peddom, and Erin Lockley from Molong Water Dragons for second claiming with us, bulking up our team numbers, and helping us complete in more relays!
Ktisti would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part from our club for making her first (hopefully not last) experience as Club Captain at a Masters Swimming Australia Nationals easy and fun!
