Shepparton Swimming Club young guns are off to national championships

By Marcus Beeck

Apr 7, 2025

Shepparton Swimming Club’s Branden Wilson, Kiera Shaw and Madison Heywood are once again off to the national swimming championships. Photo by Megan Fisher

Shepparton’s dynamo swimming trio is off to another national championships.

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Branden Wilson, Madison Heywood and Kiera Shaw are set to represent Shepparton Swimming Club at the Australian Age and MC Age Championships.

The competition will be held in Brisbane from April 10-18, with Shepparton’s star swimmers eager to impress, having all competed at the championships together in 2024.

Shaw and Heywood, both 16, will compete in the junior category, while 20-year-old Wilson — who qualified for Olympic trials in 2024 — will be in the open-class category.

Shepparton Swimming Club head coach Leanne Houkes-Wilson said the athletes would be focused on achieving personal bests at the talent-laden meet.

“I would be hoping for PBs for the girls and possibly a final and the same for Branden trying to make a final in (the open class),” Houkes-Wilson said.

“Keira is our backstroker, she will be doing a 100m and 200m backstroke.

“Madison is doing breaststroke, she is doing 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke.

“Branden will also be doing the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke.”

The team’s preparation for the championships has been rock solid as it has trained in a 50m pool — the length it will compete in.

Houkes-Wilson believes the consistent and high-level training program has her swimmers well-placed ahead of the titles.

“Branden has had a pretty big program because he has been to Olympic trials,” she said.

“It has been a good year, we have been able to train right through without any breaks.

“They should do well, it is always a really good competition swimming at nationals, we get to swim against basically everyone in Australia.

“Now they have to back themselves, all the training they have put in and swim a good race.”

The club has grown in the past 12 months, potentially due to the Australian swim team’s success at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Houkes-Wilson said exciting times were ahead for the club.

“World trials are coming up in June and we do have Madison and Branden who have both qualified for those, they just have to make up their mind whether they want to go,” she said.

“Keep committing to training or have a break is what we are looking out for those two at the moment.

“It is great they are at that level, we have some really good young swimmers and the club is growing in popularity, we have had a great year this year.

“We have been able to recruit some really good new swimmers.”