Fernmount resident Peter Allison has won four gold medals in the 2018 Australian Surf Life Saving Pool Rescue championships.
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Held on August 3–5 in Adelaide's SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre, the titles cater for age divisions ranging from under 12s to 70yrs+ and showcase many of the nation's top athletes.
Peter competed in the 70yrs+ age group, winning gold medals for all four events he entered.
He also set a new Australian record in one and equalled the national record in another.
The four events in which he swam were the 100m obstacle race, the 100m manikin tow with fins (equalling the record of 1min 38 secs), the 50m manikin carry and the 100m manikin carry with fins (setting a new Australian record).
In this latter event the record stood at 2.01.71 but Peter smashed this time by a massive 15.53 secs creating a new record of 1.46.18.
The event dictates that the competitor swims 50m, dives to a depth of 3m, retrieves a 40kg manikin full of water placed face-up on the floor of the pool, surfaces and holding the manikin's head above water with one hand, swims with the other arm the 50m back to the starting point. Disqualification is immediate if the manikin's head falls below the surface at any time.
Peter now plans to take a short break from swimming before returning to training in Bellingen's pool in preparation for next November's Rescue 2018 - the world life saving championships, also to be held in Adelaide, where he will compete in a variety of pool, surf and beach activities.