National record holder Matthew Stanley fought his way back from disappointment to win on the third night of finals at the Mayfair Pools Oceania Championships in Auckland last night.
The 22-year-old from Swimming New Zealand's High Performance Centre won the 400m freestyle in a solid 3:53.95, just outside the Oceania record, at the West Wave Aquatic Centre in Henderson.
Stanley was upset at being disqualified off the blocks in Wednesday night's relay which cost the New Zealand team a title and an Oceania record.
Last night he made doubly sure of his start, last off the blocks but recovered with a 57-second final 100m to win, more than a second clear of up-and-coming Commonwealth Games teammate Ewan Jackson in 3:55.13, with Australian Damian Fyfe third.
The Australians turned up the heat on the penultimate night with six wins to New Zealand's four, including three Oceania records. This has levelled the title count to 16 each between the two nations.
While the other Oceania countries had a share of the podium spoils last night, an historic third placing to a swimmer from the Northern Mariana Islands was the only respite from a total domination of the medals in individual events by the two powerhouse nations in the region.
The Australians scored championship records by 15-year-old Tamsin Cook in the 400m freestyle in 4:10.94, nearly two seconds inside the previous mark; Brianna Throssell with a 59.43 effort to win the 100m butterfly and the women's 4x100m freestyle relay combination that wiped more than five seconds from the old record set by Australia in 2006.
New Zealand's best performances came from Beckie Dooley, who added the 50m breaststroke to the 100m title won earlier this week, and the up-and-coming Ben Walsh in the same 50m breaststroke.
Stanley was the most impressive with his winning effort in the 400m freestyle and then returning with a powerful third leg of the men's 4x100m freestyle relay to secure New Zealand's win in 3:23.62.
"I haven't been very well and trying to work my way back into the meet," Stanley said.
He was satisfied with his performance last night which was close to his best, but knows he has plenty to do before the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships.