MASTER swimmers Christine Sefton and Leon Bobako have won big at the Pan Pacific Masters Games, held on the Gold Coast from 1-10 November.

Both Christine and Leon are breaststroke specialists, and had the honour of representing the Myall Masters Swimming Club at the Pan Pacific Masters Swimming Championships.

Both came away with gold medals in the 50m breastroke events for their respective age groups, with Leon’s swim earning him a Queensland record.

Christine added two silver medals to her record after powerful swims in the 100m and 400m breaststroke (50-54 years category).

Leon, competing in the 75-79 years age category, won gold medals in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events, setting a new Pan Pacific record in the 200m.

He also scored silver in the 50m butterfly and bronze in the 50m freestyle.

“I was surprised to have gained the medal tally despite carrying a shoulder injury for the past six months, and with my main training only recently in the 25m pool at Tea Gardens,” Leon told NOTA.

Due to winter pool closures, Leon training incorporated more out-of-pool training than normal.

“The lack of pool time during the winter period necessitated some extra added form of training for Leon, so the use of an indoor rower proved to be a good option,” Angela Lockwood of the Myall Masters explained.

“The Pan Pacific promoted extra sports for competitors to try, so Leon also had a go at competing in the indoor rowing competition, where he gained fourth in the 500m and 100m events and a Bronze in the one-minute sprint.”

The Myall Masters swimming club is open to ages 18-plus and meets three times a week at Tea Gardens pool with qualified coaches willing to assist all levels of swimmers.

The Pan Pacific Master Games is currently on par, in terms of participation levels, with some of the biggest sporting occasions in the world such as the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and this year welcomed over 15,000 competitors from over 37 countries competing in 45 sports.

Athletes ranged in age from 18 to 95 years old.

By Thomas O’KEEFE