NAGs 2025: Review

Last week, Wellington’s top age group swimmers (aged 13–16) took to the pool to compete at the highest level of age group swimming in New Zealand — the 2025 Apollo Projects National Age Group Championships, hosted in Hawke’s Bay. Sixty swimmers from nine Wellington clubs represented their teams in what turned out to be a phenomenal week of racing. 

There were countless lifetime bests, medal-winning performances, and record-breaking swims throughout the week. Notably, this was the first year that the 17- and 18-year-old age groups did not compete at NAGs — those swimmers will instead have their own opportunity at the upcoming National Championships in May. 

Day One kicked off with a bang, delivering great performances across the board. In the 100m Butterfly, Hannah Sampson (15, SwimZone) claimed silver with a time of 1:05.78, while Declan Broadfoot (15, Pirates) and Jaeci Yee (15, Capital) battled it out in a tight final, taking silver (59.50) and bronze (59.75), respectively. In the para final, Lucas Robins (S10, Otaki) swam to a silver medal with a time of 1:36.56. 

The always exciting 50m Freestyle "splash n' dash" also took place on Day One. Madeleine Wilson (15, SwimZone) claimed gold in her age group with a sharp 26.92. Camille Zhou (13, PCA) and Isla Kefford (16, Pirates) both earned bronze in their respective age groups, clocking 28.27 and 27.53. In the para final, Lucas Robins (S10, Otaki) and Nathaniel Wood (S10, PCA) went head-to-head, with Robins taking silver in 34.21 and Wood earning bronze in 35.94. 

In the longer events, Sadie Percy (14, Pirates) took bronze in the 800m Freestyle, swimming 9:41.12. Meanwhile, Charlie Dickison (14, Taraika) dominated the 1500m Freestyle, winning gold in 17:08.64. Justin Wang (14, PCA) rounded out the podium with bronze in 17:31.57. 

Day Two opened with Justin Wang adding another bronze to his name in the 400m IM, finishing in 5:04.98. SwimZone's Madeleine Wilson (15) and Kayne Howat (16) sprinted their way to medals in the 100m Freestyle — Wilson took silver in 59.04, and Howat earned bronze with 53.12. In the para final, Robins clocked 1:15.94 to collect yet another silver. 

In the 200m Backstroke, Luojingxi Chen (15, Taraika) earned bronze with a solid 2:12.18. The 50m Breaststroke proved to be a medal haul for Wellington swimmers, with seven medals in total. Iite Alaifea (14, PCA), Ciara Hearns (15, Tawa), Asher Thomas (14, PCA), Frederick Mills (15, Tawa), and Roman Anderson (15, Tawa) all reached the podium. Mills led the charge with a gold medal and a time of 30.42. In the para final, Nathaniel Wood (S10, PCA) took gold in 44.60, closely followed by Robins (S10, Otaki), who earned silver in 46.01. 

The day finished with a strong team effort in the 4x50m Freestyle Relay from SwimZone Racing. The team of Madeleine Wilson, Genaya Baker, Hannah Sampson, and Sophie Martin powered to a silver medal with a time of 1:50.06. 

The final three days saw Wellington swimmers continue to shine. Charlie Dickison (14) delivered a standout performance in the 400m Freestyle, claiming gold with a time of 4:16.53. Nathaniel Wood (S10) added another bronze to his collection in the para 400 Free with 5:50.49. 

Hannah Sampson struck gold in the 15-year girls' 200m Breaststroke (2:43.79), while Roman Anderson earned silver in the 15-year boys' final (2:31.21). In the 100m Backstroke, Taraika teammates Isabelle Hunt (16) and Luojingxi Chen (15) both finished with bronze in their age groups — Hunt swam 1:07.95, and Chen clocked 1:00.42. Nathaniel Wood raced solo in the para final, claiming gold in 1:27.33. 

The 50m Butterfly brought fast swims and a flurry of medals. SwimZone teammates Madeleine Wilson and Genaya Baker both secured podium finishes in their respective age groups — Wilson claimed gold in 28.87, while Baker earned silver in 29.53. William Tye (14, Taraika) flew to silver in 27.23, and Jaeci Yee (15, Capital) followed closely behind to grab bronze in 26.74. Kayne Howat (16, SwimZone) also impressed, picking up silver with a time of 25.28. In the para final, Lucas Robins (S10, Otaki) added a silver to his tally, finishing in 37.86. 

Tawa Swimming Club capped off the day with a bronze in the 4x50m Medley Relay, clocking 1:51.41. The team — Jack McPhail, Frederick Mills, Lucas Commerford, and Roman Anderson — delivered a strong collective performance to secure the podium finish.

Day Four opened with more medal-winning performances. Marina Nadilo (16, Taraika) swam a gutsy 200m Butterfly to earn bronze with a time of 2:31.44, while Declan Broadfoot (15, Pirates) dominated the boys’ race, claiming gold in a speedy 2:11.00. 

In the 100m Breaststroke, Ciara Hearns (15, Tawa) and Hannah Sampson (15, SwimZone) went head-to-head, with Hearns touching for silver in 1:15.71 and Sampson close behind for bronze in 1:16.44. On the boys’ side, Asher Thomas (14, PCA) took silver in 1:11.07, and Frederick Mills (15, Tawa) continued his strong form with another silver medal in 1:09.37. 

In the para final, Nathaniel Wood (S10, PCA) struck gold in 1:35.48, with Lucas Robins (S10, Otaki) following for silver in 1:37.13. The freestyle events also brought success, with Madeleine Wilson (15, SwimZone) taking gold in the 200m Free in 2:11.11, and Charlie Dickison (14, Taraika) smashing a Wellington record to win gold in 1:59.65. In the para 200m Free, Nathaniel Wood and Lucas Robins battled again, with Wood earning silver (2:42.80) and Robins taking bronze (2:43.48). 

Day Five, the final day of competition, saw the team finish strong. Hannah Sampson (15, SwimZone) captured gold in the 200m Individual Medley with a powerful 2:26.45. Luojingxi Chen (15, Taraika) also topped the podium in his IM final, breaking the Wellington record with a stellar 2:11.44. Declan Broadfoot (15, Pirates) rounded out the podium with bronze in 2:13.44. Nathaniel Wood (S10, PCA) added a silver in the para IM final, clocking 3:08.78. 

Backstroke specialists continued to shine, with Isabelle Hunt (16, Taraika) earning bronze in the 50m Back (31.45), while Roman Anderson (15, Tawa) and Luojingxi Chen (15, Taraika) added silver and bronze respectively, with times of 28.23 and 28.26. Nathaniel Wood raced solo in the S10 category, taking home another gold in 41.65. 

In the distance freestyle, Sadie Percy (14, Pirates) won silver in the 1500m Free with an 18:23.79, and Marina Nadilo (16, Taraika) claimed bronze in 19:05.27. Charlie Dickison closed out his extraordinary meet with gold in the 800m Freestyle (8:55.95), with Justin Wang (14, PCA) also stepping onto the podium for bronze (9:12.10). 

The 2025 Apollo Projects National Age Group Championships was definitely a week to remember for the region. We had it all, from many exciting races to national records and record-breaking performances. 63 medals were won over the 5 days of racing destroying last year’s total of 45 medals. Huge congratulations to all the swimmers and coaches for the hard work you all put into getting here. Also, a massive thank you to all our volunteer officials and helpers from the region who helped make this meet possible.