SWIMMING
JOHN Ooi did Hume City Swimming Club proud at the Metro West District Sprints swimming carnival for 2008.
The under-9 star claimed two gold medals at the Werribee meet, in the 50-metre freestyle and 50-metre breaststroke.
He narrowly missed out on medal placings in the backstroke and butterfly with fourth place finishes, but he is undoubtedly a swimmer to watch.
The big story of the meeting was the performance of the North-West Aquatic Swimming Club. The young club reaffirmed its status as one of the premier swimming clubs west of the Bolte Bridge.
The team from the Windy Hill Fitness Centre finished second overall on the medal tally.
North-West reeled in a staggering 11 gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals at the meet to be ranked second out of the 20 best teams from the west.
It was a history-making event for North-West as it bettered the medal tallies of traditional powerhouses Melton, Moonee Valley and Maribyrnong.
Cam Nation, the club's founder and head coach, could not contain his delight at the result and attributed the success to dedication from his team and a new sprint-specific training program.
"Before the championships we had only ever won 10 district gold medals across eight previous meets, so to more than match that in just one night's competition is a fantastic result," he said.
Fourteen-year-old Emily Nicol was one of the standout female swimmers.
She broke the elusive 30-second mark in the 50-metre freestyle en route to three gold medals.
Robbie Catto-Smith also collected three gold medals, including the 50m backstroke, where the 13-year-old smashed his previous best time by more than three seconds.
Superfish Nick McArthur, 15, continued his superlative season with victories in the 50-metre butterfly and 50-metre backstroke.
His performance in the butterfly was the fastest by a 15-year-old since the district's inception in 1961.
Young guns Michael Gallagher, 9, and Michael Comerford, 8, won gold medals in their respective backstroke events, while Catherine Johnson, 14, glittered in gold after the 50-metre breaststroke.
"Four years ago the club was nothing more than one coach, five kids and a dream of enabling local swimmers to reach their full potential in the pool," Nation said.
"Fast forward to 2008 and we're matching it with the best in the district and state we've got more than 300 swimmers in our squad program and a fantastic home base at Windy Hill that continues to set the standard for first-class aquatic facilities.
"But best of all, we have a great group of swimmers who continue to work hard in the pool and subsequently reap the rewards on race day.
"I'm a happy coach as long as the kids are improving, having fun, and staying healthy and fit, and at the end of the day any extra success at a district or state level is just an added bonus."
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