CORLETTE swimming sensation Ebony Nix and rising 14-year-old Lachlan Parker stamped their mark at the annual Nelson Bay Swim Club Carnival at Tomaree Aquatic Centre.

The outstanding duo produced gold medal-winning swims for Nelson Bay in their respective 100m freestyle events on the opening day of the coveted meet that attracted 300 elite competitors from across NSW.

Newly crowned State champion Nix won the Girls 17 years final with a time of 1.01.93 sec before backing up to claim gold in the 50m backstroke final.

Her winning backstroke time of 31.61 sec capped a successful start to the carnival for the young Port Stephens superfish.

The versatile Parker claimed gold in the Boys 14 years in a time of 58.35 sec and also collected a bronze medal in the 14 years 50m backstroke final.

They were part of a strong contingent of fifteen Nelson Bay swimmers that represented the club with distinction during the two-day meet last weekend.

Others included promising seven-year-olds Keana Macklan and Oceana Xie; ten-year-olds Scarlett Connor and Jacinta Scott; eleven-year-old Thomas Colbert; twelve-year-olds Beau Gardiner, Rafe Grant and Evie Burns; thirteen-year-old young guns Stefan Grant and Alexis Scott; top fourteen-year-old prospect Lara Budd; fifteen-year-old Isabella Hol and eighteen-year-old Annekah Macklan.

In an encouraging milestone, Stefan and younger brother Rafe both recorded personal best times to collect bronze medals in their respective 1500m freestyle and 100m freestyle events.

Stefan finished third in the 1500m freestyle after posting a PB of 19.29.84 while Rafe shaved two seconds off his previous best time to claim a podium spot – clocking 1.07.50 in the Boys 12years 100m freestyle final.

Isabella demonstrated her skill and potential to pick up bronze medals in the Girls 15 years 100m freestyle in a time of 1.06.39 and 50m backstroke (34.62 sec) while talented Lara earned a bronze with a third place finish in the Girls 14 years 200m breaststroke final (3.05.64).

The Nelson Bay carnival featured swimmers from clubs as far away as Sydney up to Taree and Port Macquarie on the northern NSW coast.

Nelson Bay Swim Club official Andi Budd thanked the tireless volunteers and generous sponsors for their support behind the scenes as well as all competitors for making the annual carnival a tremendous success.

“The two day event ran smoothly and featured competitive races across all swimming disciplines which underlined the enormous depth of talent across various clubs in NSW,” he told News Of The Area.

By Chris KARAS