Cook Islands’ very own Lanihei Connolly has made a splash at the Australian Open Swimming Championships (April 21-24, 2025) at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre breaking personal best (PBs) records and Cook Islands national records.

This is the largest annual event on Australia’s Swimming calendar, attracting thousands of athletes and spectators to one of the country’s premier swimming venues bringing together some of Australia’s most elite Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Lanihei has achieved three PBs and Cook Islands national records in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke, winning the age group final for all these three events as well.

Speaking to Cook Islands News, Connolly Lanihei said she was happy.

“In the heats, I managed to go 31.99 in the 50m breaststroke, which was a huge milestone for me because I had been chasing that sub-32 time for a long time. Breaking that barrier was such a satisfying moment.

“Although I went a little slower in the final, I was still really proud to finish 5th overall in the Open category and come 1st in the 18–19 age group. Both placings were improvements from last year, and it feels great to see how much progress I’ve made over the past year in the program.”

She explained that she was 1st in the 18-19 age group for all three of her races.

In the 100m breaststroke she clocked a PB and national record of 1:09.53 in the heats and finished 5th again in the A final — a huge jump from 24th place last year which she said she was really proud of.

“Breaking the 1:10 barrier had been one of my biggest goals for ages, so to finally achieve that was an incredible feeling. That 1:09.53 in the heats was also significantly faster than the time I did at the Paris Olympics, which was a PB at the time. It really shows how far I’ve come since then. Jumping from 24th place last year to 5th this year gave me a massive confidence boost.

“It reassured me that everything I’ve been doing in training is paying off and that I’m on the right track.”

Connolly said she has been training this year and swimming nine times a week, gym twice a week, and also doing a Pilates session once a week.

“Our squad has definitely been doing more mileage than usual, so it’s been tough, but also really rewarding. I have definitely been feeling the benefits in my racing as I feel fitter and stronger in the water.”

Connolly says she would likely be racing in June at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau and the World Championships in July in Singapore.

In the 50m breaststroke, Lanihei swam 31.99 in the heats making a new national record and placed fifth in the A final – last year she placed ninth.

She set a PB and national record in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:09.53 in the heats and finished fifth in the A final - massive gains from her 24th place last year.

In 2024, Lanihei made history for the Cooks by winning a silver medal in the 100 metres breaststroke event at the Oceania Championships in Gold Coast. She is the first female swimmer from the Cook Islands to place in the top 10 of any swim categories in Australia.

Lanihei has been training at the Bull Sharks since December 2023, as the first cohort of the World Aquatics Training Centre established at Bond University, Queensland, Australia.