Gold Coast teenager Elijah Winnington has taken another major step towards the Commonwealth Games with a powerhouse performance to score an upset win in the 400m freestyle at the NSW Open Championships.
The 17-year-old from Bond University clocked under the 3:50 milestone for the first time, stopping the clock at 3:49.96 and leaving Rio Olympic champions Mack Horton (Melbourne Vicentre) 3:50.93 and Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri 3:51.04 in his wake.
It came on a night that also saw Queensland's wonder girl Cate Campbell (Chandler) in career best butterfly form.
She clocked the fastest non-textile suit time in the 50m butterfly final of 25.68, a personal best and making her the second fastest Australian before an eye-catching season-best 52.37 to score a slashing victory in the 100m freestyle.
Winnington's Bond teammate Cam McEvoy backed up his slick morning heat swim to win the men's 100m in 48.99 - the fastest time of the season - in a blanket finish from fellow Olympic teammates James Magnussen (Ravenswood) 49.11 and James Roberts (Somerset) 49.24.
But it was the teen from the Gold Coast, Winnington, who left the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre as the talk of the town.
He went into the race with a simple plan from astute coach Richard Scarce.
"Before the race Richard and I were discussing the race plan and he said to me don't worry about a time, we don't care about that - it (will come) at the Trials in five weeks time," Winnington said.
"He said to go out there and execute the race and that's what I had in my mind and I actually surprised myself."
Winnington, who won the 200m freestyle at Queensland Championships and finished second to Horton in the 400m, said the win would be another huge confidence booster towards his home Games dream.
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