Objects of Substance - Fifty metre Freestyle Trophy

1980 winner Amanda Leeson inspects the 50m Freestyle trophy and the names of those who have gone before her.

Over the history of the Open 50m Freestyle Championship, as it is now named, other multiple winners have been Jennifer Corish (1959 to 1961), Sheridan Scriven (1982 to 1984), Fiona Mackay (2003 to 2005), and Eliza King (2016 to 2018). Fiona Mackay (2005) recalls her third and final win, and how special the day was for her. My strongest memories come from my senior year. I had been made Swimming Captain and I was very passionate in enhancing the swimming team’s supporter base for the QGSSSA competition. It was also the first year that both my sisters, Kirsteen (2007) and Megan (2009) were all attending BGGS, and I was excited to show off their individual achievements. I still have strong memories of the final of the 50m Freestyle Championship … the very last race of the day. By this time the rest of the school has mostly changed and settled back into their seats and so the whole school is watching you. Both my sisters were in the final with me … I entered ‘the zone’. The gun went off and I flew off the racing blocks and into the water and felt at home. Everything felt smooth and relaxed. It was a new personal best time and I had won the 50m freestyle Championship for the 3rd time, in my final year as Swimming Captain, whilst swimming with my sisters. (Email, 22/9/23) What is also special about this race was the overall outcome. Fiona placed first, with her two sisters placing second and third, in what was most likely the only time in the Championships history that this occurred. A true “sisterhood” event! Megan Mackay (2009) would later go on to win the event in her final year at school.