Background
- New Zealand (also known as NZL)
swimmer with gold medal at World Youth Championships in 2008
Insights
Bell wins World Youth swim title
- 10th July 2008
West Auckland teenager Daniel Bell has become a world champion, winning the final of the 100m backstroke at the FINA World Youth Championships in Mexico today.
Bell, who will lead-off the medley relay at the Beijing Olympics, took out the final of the 100m backstroke in impressive fashion in 55.32s. This was slightly slower than his New Zealand (also known as NZL) 
Open record breaking effort in winning his semifinal yesterday when he became the first kiwi swimmer to go under the 55 second barrier.
The 18 year old from the West Auckland Aquatics Club did not rest on his laurels, turning around three events after his final to win the semifinal of the 100m butterfly in a championship record 52.76.
He is the second New Zealand swimmer to win a World Youth title, following the effort of Southland’s Natalie Wiegersma in the inaugural event two years ago.
Swimming New Zealand chief executive Mike Byrne said the result was a tremendous effort for Bell and his coach Donna Bouzaid and a real boost for the sport.
“Daniel is an outstanding talent that has come through our coaching and development programmes,” Mr Byrne said. “It shows that we can produce world class talent in this country.”
The Beijing Olympic head coach Jan Cameron said Bell deserved real credit for his effort and that his improving times augers well for the Beijing Olympics.
“Fully tapered he is perhaps on track to get close to the mid-54 second range for Beijing and that coupled with the other more senior swimmers means they are on track for a top performance in the medley relay.”
Beijing bound junior swimmers in record breaking form
- 9th July 2008
Young Olympic swimmers Daniel Bell and Orinoco Faamausili-Banse produced record performances on the first day of the FINA World Youth Championships in Mexico.
Bell (West Auckland Aquatics) broke the New Zealand Open record for the 100m backstroke while Faamausili-Banse (Laser Mt Eden) set a national age group mark in the 100m freestyle on the opening day of the championships.
Both showed they are in good form for Beijing where they will compete in the medley and freestyle relays respectively.
Bell, 18, won his semifinal to qualify for tomorrow’s final of the 100m backstroke. He clocked 55.62 to top his heat, but went even better to record 54.99s in the semifinal, which broke his own national open record of 55.26 set at the Olympic Trials.
US-based team-mate Kurt Bassett (Laser Mt Eden), a 200m backstroke specialist, was third in the same semifinal to give New Zealand (also known as NZL) a grand chance of finishing on the podium in tomorrow’s final.
Faamausili-Banse, 17, broke his own national age group record in the 100m freestyle, clocking 50.29s as the lead-out swimmer in the freestyle relay that finished seventh fastest but had to withdraw from the final after illness to one of the team members.
In other swims, Rotorua’s Kane Radford produced a personal best 3:50.26 to finish 10th in the heads of the 400m freestyle and John Gatfield (Swim City) recorded his best in heats of the 100m breaststroke.
The championships finish on Monday (NZ time)
New Zealand (also known as NZL) results, day 1:
Heats:
- 400m freestyle: Kane Radford (Rotorua) 3:50.26, 10; Shane Patience (Waves, Dunedin) 4:02.99, 23.
- 100m backstroke: Daniel Bell (West Auckland Aquatics) 55.62, 1 (NZ Age Record); Kurt Bassett (Laser Mt Eden) 56.34, 2.
- 400m individual medley: Ellen Quirke (Capital) 4:58.88, 16.
- 100m breaststroke: John Gatfield (SwimZone, Wgtn) 1:08.40, 35.
- 400m freestyle relay: New Zealand (O Faamausili-Banse, Bell, Gatfield, Bassett) 3:26.70, 7.
Semifinal:
- 100m backstroke: Bell 54.99, 1 (NZ Open Record); Ben Treffers (AUS) 55.93, 2; Bassett 56.21, 3. [category:who:Bell,Daniel]]