logo
Deans confident on eve of world champs

Deans confident on eve of world champs

Relaxed looks good on Caitlin Deans.
The Dunedin swimmer had a national championships to remember in May when she swam four personal-best times, collected four medals and shattered an Otago record.
She claimed bronze in the women's freestyle 200m and 400m, silver in the 800m and gold in the 1500m, slashing nearly 6sec off the Otago record she set in April with a time of 16min 12.18sec.
It punched her ticket to her fourth long-course world championships in Singapore as part of a 12-strong New Zealand team.
The Paris Olympian will compete in the 800m and 1500m at the meeting which gets under way on Sunday.
She also swam under the world qualifying time for the 400m but only two athletes from each country can swim in an event at the world championships.
"Really excited to be heading off to my fourth world champs," Deans said.
"I don't think the excitement ever dulls, no matter how many times you've been before."
Heading into the national championships, Deans had no expectation of where she would finish and was taken aback by her results.
"Honestly, it took me by surprise.
"I didn't quite expect to be hitting the times that I did at nationals, so I think that gave me a lot of confidence leading up to this meet and confidence in getting a good training block under my belt before worlds."
Maybe taking the pressure off suits the 25-year-old.
"Nothing that I can think of that was any different.
"Probably just more relaxed than usual, because it was my first time having a big break post-Olympics out of the water.
"Not having that expectation on myself about how I was going to go probably plays a part in it."
Deans made history during her first Olympic campaign.
She was part of the women's 4x200m freestyle relay team in Paris alongside former Dunedin swimmer Erika Fairweather, Eve Thomas and Laticia Transom. They were the first Kiwi women's relay team to make an Olympic final, finishing eighth in a stacked field.
"Going to the Olympics was pretty surreal. It's something that I've dreamed of since I was a little kid, so to actually fulfil that ... I don't think it's sunk in and I'm not sure if it ever will.
"The Olympics is just something else. It's so different to anything else we do, and to experience that is something I'll be forever grateful for."
That experience, alongside having raced at three previous world championships, helps the long-distance specialist as she dives into the pool.
"It definitely helps and plays a big part.
"The more exposure you can get to the international racing scene, the better, and it starts to normalise those big names.
"Obviously having an Olympics under the belt helps with that."
Working alongside experienced Dunedin coach Lars Humer also helped her development.
"Lars bring with him a lot of experience. Obviously I've worked with him for a long time now, so I'm very lucky."
Deans is looking forward to putting her best foot forward at the world championships and getting back to racing, not just for herself but for her support network.
"I've had a lot of people support me in multiple different ways to get to this world champs, whether it's been their time, or financially, all the work that they've put in to help me get there.
"I'm just hoping I can do them, and myself, really proud."
Auckland-based Fairweather, the defending women's freestyle 400m world champion, will also race in Singapore, alongside Olympian Lewis Clareburt.
Olympian Hazel Ouwehand qualified in the butterfly but made herself unavailable.
kayla.hodge@odt.co.nz
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Common Sense Prevails In Women's Sports
Common Sense Prevails In Women's Sports

Scoop

time11 hours ago

  • Scoop

Common Sense Prevails In Women's Sports

Save Women's Sports Australasia (SWSA) welcomes the decision by Sport NZ to dump a policy framework that supported boys and men playing in girls and women's sport. 'We have fought against this ideological policy for years as, while the intent was honourable, it was obvious that an objective to include males who identify as female in women's sport could not be done without compromising fairness and safety in sport for our female participants,' SWSA spokeswoman Ro Edge says. 'It's great that this government has finally recognised that inclusion was incompatible with fairness and safety and thrown out the Guiding Principles.' Ms Edge says the landscape of transgender inclusion in sport has also evolved significantly since the Guiding Principles were first introduced in 2022. 'Most international sporting federations have updated their eligibility criteria to balance inclusion with fairness and safety, and have typically enabled transgender athletes to compete in the category aligned with their biological sex or in mixed-sex teams.' Last month the International Olympic Committee announced it will take a leading role in protecting the female category, after previously supporting flawed policies that 'treated females as nothing more than men with lower testosterone levels. And this week the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee updated its eligibility rules to bar trans identifying males from competing in Olympic women's sports. Ms Edge says Sport NZ's Guiding Principles had become outdated. 'Unfortunately, their continued existence created unnecessary conflict for national sporting bodies, particularly those reliant on Sport NZ funding, which may have felt pressured to adopt these guidelines despite their misalignment with their international federation policies.' She says it had been frustrating to witness the expectation from organisations that women should be kind and include men in their sport. 'Trans activists have pushed the inclusion mantra and targeted those of us brave enough to speak up. The reality is that it is only women who are negatively impacted by inclusion policies.' She says sports categories are created for good reason, and that is to ensure fairness and safety. As an example, the under 85kg weight grade in rugby allows players under 85kg to compete, but not anyone over that weight. Likewise, a heavyweight boxer does not compete against a lightweight and able body athletes don't compete against para-athletes. 'Keeping males out of female sport is the only way to ensure women can have fair competition." 'We are all diverse and have different body shapes and sizes, but biology matters in sport as we play with our bodies, not our identities.' Ms Edge says it is great that common sense has prevailed.

Kiwi Toa Henderson wins Royal Welsh Open shearing title
Kiwi Toa Henderson wins Royal Welsh Open shearing title

1News

time12 hours ago

  • 1News

Kiwi Toa Henderson wins Royal Welsh Open shearing title

Two Kiwi shearers have made it onto the podium at the Royal Welsh Open All Nations Shearing Championship this morning. Toa Henderson from Northland took out first place in the competition, winning the memorial trophy, the crystal award and £600 (NZ$1347). The 35-year-old, who won the Golden Shears and New Zealand Open championships' double in March, blasted through the 20 Welsh speckle lambs in under 12m 38 seconds, to be first off the board in the six-man final. Former Royal Welsh Open winner and defending champion Jack Fagan from Te Kuiti placed third, just 0.15pts behind in his bid to win the title for a third time. Coming in sixth was a third New Zealand shearer, Matt Smith, from Northland and Hawke's Bay. ADVERTISEMENT Henderson told the crowd he felt "pretty good" taking the Welsh title in his first season. Northland's Toa Henderson took out first place in the competition. (Source: 1News) "Awesome final, I really enjoyed it. To all my family back home, I'm rapt with this," he told the cheering crowd. He also acknowledged his wife Phoebe, saying it was her birthday today. The overall test series went to the Welsh team, claiming their second win on the home stage. It was the 50th anniversary of the Royal Welsh championship.

Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Faith Ward corrects confusion about Australian nationality
Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Faith Ward corrects confusion about Australian nationality

NZ Herald

time13 hours ago

  • NZ Herald

Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Faith Ward corrects confusion about Australian nationality

'We went home like two years ago and I was like, 'Oh, it hasn't changed one bit.'' Ward, who moved to Perth aged 10, is the first New Zealander (and the third Australian) to be selected for the illustrious Texas-based cheerleading squad. She said the significance of her selection was not lost on her. Ward is one of six rookies joining the coveted dance squad for the 2025-26 NFL season. Photo / Instagram 'I feel like it's so cool for us Kiwi girls to show that we are just as capable as everyone else to make our dreams come true. 'Obviously, we don't really get a lot of opportunity in New Zealand, so we have to put ourselves out there as it is, and I did just that and proved us right and that we are capable of doing something like this and made my dream happen.' Her New Zealand nationality may even have helped her secure a spot in the high-profile team. Ward told the radio show she was shoulder-tapped by the team's recruiters, who asked where she was originally from. When she said New Zealand, the recruiter replied: 'We've never had a New Zealand DCC, so you should apply.' Ward also represents a tonsorial first on the squad, breaking the mould by wearing her hair tied up instead of down in the team's signature style. 'I'm honestly so honoured to not only be the first New Zealand DCC and the third Australian, I'm like one of the first to have a ponytail,' she told Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley. 'You guys will see in my cameo if my hair is up or down, that'll be the answer as to whether or not it's staying. But for now, I've been wearing my hair in a pony and [dance director] Kelli seems to like it.' Ward is one of six rookies joining the coveted dance squad for the 2025-26 NFL season. A Netflix docuseries follows the cheerleaders from auditions to training camp and into the NFL season. Asked whether she was prepared for the fame that comes with the role, Ward said her life was 'on a full 360'. 'I'm going to try and live in the moment and take it all in for what it is.' She knows that, when she makes her debut, she'll be inspiring and representing more than just an NFL team. 'Hopefully, I'll do NZ proud.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store