Canterbury College student Hannah Stewart has taken out the national title for 13-year-old girls 50m freestyle at the National Schools Swimming Championships in Darwin.
Bringing home three gold, one silver and one bronze, Stewart was pleased with her achievements across the freestyle and relays.
Stewart swam in the 10-19 years 8x50m freestyle relay, 13 years 50m and 100m freestyle, 13-14 years 4x50m freestyle relay, 200m medley relay and the 13-19 years 4x100m freestyle relay across the week of competition.
Stewart said swimming in the outdoor pool of the Casuarina Aquatic Centre made the event seem less daunting.
“The outdoor pool was a bit different (for a large competition) but it was good to have another experience up my sleeve for the future,” she said.
“The heat and humidity were the hardest thing because you’d go to warm up and you would already be hot.”
Going into the national competition Stewart worked on her technique as she knew a lot of the competitors personally.
“You go in with an open mind but you have to back yourself,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter the situation you just have to do what you do and the result is not a representation of yourself.”
The travel was a minor concern for the third time Queensland representative, but she didn’t let that play with her mind.
“It’s a bit hard without all your normal things, but you've just got to take what you know you need; to make it feel a bit more like home,” she said.
Stewart will now focus her training for the state club titles to be held in December.
