Swimming stars head to national competition

Two of Broome’s brightest young swimming stars are set to represent the town and WA at a prestigious national competition in Adelaide later this year.

Belinda Cole, 15 and Talia Wilkinson, 10, have been selected in the State contingent to travel to South Australia for the Pacific School Games in November.

Students at Broome Senior High School and Broome North Primary respectively, the teenage duo have made a splash in regional competitions and as such caught the eye of the selectors.

Part of the Broome Barracudas Swimming Club, the duo has been training diligently in advance of the competition, withThe Broome Advertiser catching up with the promising pair last week at an early-morning session.

Belinda was part of the WA team for the equivalent event in Melbourne last year and said she enjoyed competing against regional and national athletes.

Talia has been swimming since she was six and is set to compete in a host of different disciplines in Adelaide.

Barracudas coach Toni Smith said the pair’s achievements were inspiration to the rest of the club and that location was not a barrier.

“It is good for Broome that young local athletes like Belinda and Talia can pick up these kinds of opportunities,” she said.

“With our young athletes in lots of different sports showing what they can do, it confirms that youngsters can excel even if they live regionally.”

Barracudas president Sandra Jeffery was full of praise for Belinda and Talia.

“Broome Barracudas Swimming Club is very proud of the girls’ inclusion in this team,” she said.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for the girls and I hope they swim well and gain more competitive swimming experience but I also hope they make new friends on the team who they can share their team memories and future dreams with.“