A fourth place finish by Wānaka’s Ben Silipo (17) in the final of the 400m individual medley (400 IM) at the New Zealand Open Swimming Championship is being hailed as the best result ever achieved by a swimmer from the Wānaka Swim Club.

Swim coach Cameron Stanley said Ben had some outstanding results at the championship.

“He started well on day one with a five second personal best (PB) in the heats of the 400m individual medley to qualify for the final,” Cameron said. 

“He then backed that up with another three second PB in the final to finish in fourth place. 

“This is one of the best results for a swimmer at open level from Wanaka Swim Club in the club's history.”

It was Ben's first time at the open championship and he was the sole Wānaka representative.

“I was very happy,” he said. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve made significant time drops like that so it was all I could have asked for.”

Ben had some tough competition in the final of the 400m IM with World Championship medallist and Tokyo Olympic Games finalist Lewis Clareburt winning the race 24.31 seconds ahead of Ben.

Cameron said it “was a great experience for Ben to race alongside a swimmer of his calibre”. 

Ben continued his good form in his other races at the championship finishing sixth in the final of the 400m freestyle and eighth in the final of the 200m individual medley, recording PBs in both races.

Next week Ben will compete in the National Age Group Championships in Wellington starting on April 19 where he is hoping to qualify for the New Zealand junior team to compete in Hawaii.

To qualify for the team Ben needs to swim another personal best in the 400m IM with the qualifying mark just over two seconds faster than he swam at the New Zealand Open Championship.

PHOTO: Tansiha Keach