Runnymede Swimmers Make Waves at the Secondary Age Group Meet
Runnymede Swimming Club’s young swimmers continued to make an impact in the pool after another weekend of great performances at the Borough of Waltham Forest Secondary Age Group Development Meet. This gala is run for the less experienced competitive swimmers in Essex and many of those involved are looking to make the last leap up to the major championship level. Runnymede’s latest group of talented new swimmers were up front with the best at this meet, with many of them producing swims inside the County Championships standard. The club’s swimmers took 42 top 6 place medals, with 17 being for the top 3 podium positions and 6 of these winning Gold and the top spot on the rostrum.
The Club’s Assistant Coach & former Great Britain swimmer Nathalie Brown was particularly pleased with the weekend’s performances in the pool because all 6 Gold medals were won by 6 different swimmers, and also by those who have not tasted success before. Also pleasing for Nathalie was that many of the club’s competitors at this meet are products of coaching in her junior squads.
Kelsey Ellerby won the Gold Medal in the Girl’s 10-year 100m Individual Medley event, with a time well inside the county qualifying standard for her age group. In the same age group, the 4th place medal was won by Hayley Mitchell in the 200m Backstroke race with a time also inside the County QT. A 5th place medal went to Alice Fraser for her swim in the tough 200m Butterfly event, and the 6th position medal was won by Emily Muggleton in the 200m Freestyle race.
The Boy’s 10-year age group Murphy Talbot improved his best time by 12 seconds to win the 100m Individual Medley. Team-mate Lewis Kerr won the Silver medal with a great swim in the same event, less than 0.2 second behind Murphy. Runnymede’s Elliot Hart also took the 6th place medal in the same race and all 3 swimmers were inside the County qualifying standard. 10-year Lloyd Burton was just out side the medals in 7th place but looked in superb form winning the bronze medal for 3rd position in the 200m Breaststroke, as was Lewis Kerr in taking the 4th place honours. Both swimmers were again inside the County QT.
In the youngest age group at this gala, 9-year Matthew Davis won the Gold medal for an excellent swim in the 200m Butterfly in a personal best time and inside the County QT. Matthew also won the 4th place medal for his achievements in the 200m Backstroke event. The Girl’s 9-year age group 100m Individual Medley race produced some very quick times and the 4th place medal was won by Runnymede’s Molly Giles in a new best time.
Shannon Wennington swum an impressive race to storm home in 1st place for the Gold medal in the Girls 11-year 100m Individual Medley. In the same age group Ellie Honeysett won the bronze medal, ahead of team-mate Charlotte Hartin who won the 5th place medal in the Girls 100m Freestyle. Shannon, Charlotte and Ellie all produced swims that were inside the County qualifying times for their events, and Ellie also picked up the 6th place medal for efforts in the 100m Breaststroke. The boy’s 11-year age group swimmers also notched up a few medal winning performances. Thomas Giles won bronze and Sonny Canham the 4th place medal in the 200m Butterfly, and Sonny was unlucky to miss out on another medal finishing 7th in the 100m I/M, all with personal best times.
13-year Jenny Lamb showed her rivals a clean pair of heals to win the Gold medal in the 100m Freestyle in a County QT. Jenny looked on great form during this gala and she also won the Silver medal in the 100m Breaststroke event and the 6th place medal in the 100m I/M in personal best times. Another Runnymede 13-year swimmer on form this weekend was Yvette James who won Silver in the 100m I/M and further medals for 4th in the 100m Breaststroke and 6th in the 100m Butterfly. Thomas Honeysett won the Silver medal with an excellence performance in the boy’s 13-year 100 I/M with George Smith taking 6th in the same race. George also took the 4th place medal for his swim in the 100m Backstroke and Tom was 6th in the 100m Butterfly.
In a hotly contested Boy’s 14-year age group, Sam Goldfinch produced his best swim of the day in the 100m Individual Medley to win the Gold Medal and followed up by taking 4th in the 100m Butterfly. James Carter also took 4th in the 100m I/M with his brother Adam close behind in 5th Place and Jack Fraser just out side the medals in 7th position with less than 0.5 second separating all 3 swimmers. James Carter looked in great shape when winning the Silver medal for his swim in the 100m Butterfly in a race that saw team-mate Matthew Winnell take the 6th position medal. Jack Fraser swum quicker than he has ever done before, to take 3rd and the bronze medal in the 100m Freestyle. He also finished in 6th place in the 100m Backstroke to complete a good weekend.
Matthew Monte looked on top form as swum to a Silver Medal in the 12-year 100m Individual Medley and followed this up with a Bronze Medal in the 100m Freestyle with both times inside the County QT. Bethany Goldfinch took the 5th place medal in the Girls 100m Breaststroke for the same age group. 14-year Amy Beck won the 5th place medals for her performances in the 100m I/M and the 100m Freestyle all with new best times.
Other Runnymede swimmers who swum well throughout the weekend but finished outside the top 6 positions were: Charlotte Broad; Megan Beard; Adam Felstead; Taz Porter; Rebecca Horgan; Lauren Beard and Daniel Nobes;
The club is always looking for new talent to join them in the water and they are particularly interested 1998, 1999 and 2000 born swimmers who would like to try out competitive swimming. Those interested should contact the Club Secretary Heather Davis on 01702 478380 to arrange an assessment by the coaching staff and free trial sessions. Due to expansion of the club, qualified ASA level 3 Coaches or level 2 Teachers willing to work 6-8 hours per week should also contact Heather to arrange an interview and discuss terms.
Runnymede Swimming Club is an Amateur Swimming Association Swim 21 and Essex County Council SportSX Accredited Club. More information on the club can be found at www.runnymede.co.uk