Another Great Weekend for Runnymede at Block B of the County Championships

Runnymede Swimming Club’s squad members continued to add to their impressive haul of Championship titles, medals and points at this year’s Essex County Age Group Championships. The Championships run over 4 weekends between January to the end of March and at the halfway stage the club has now achieved a total of 14 Gold, 9 Silver and 6 Bronze medals and many more finalists’ top 6 placings.

The club’s Head Coach Paul Eveleigh is understandably very pleased with the swimmers performances this year and commented, “This was another big step forward for the Club, with many of the swimmers achieving places in the finals across all the age ranges. Picking up the County Championship titles and other medals always grabs the headlines and we hope that this group of swimmers can now go on to achieve at Regional and maybe National level. We aren’t resting on our laurels just yet though, and the club is currently looking for young inexperienced swimmers born in 1998, 1999 and 2000, so we can continue to find and coach talented athletes over the next few years and help build on the club’s current successes.”

1998, 1999 and 2000 born swimmers (or any others) who would like to try out competitive swimming should contact the Club Secretary Heather Davis on 01702 478380 to arrange an assessment by the coaching staff and free trial sessions.

Chloe Davis won her first Championship Gold medals, winning the 400m Freestyle and 400m Individual Medley in the 12-year age group. Chloe smashed her previous best times in both these middle distance races, and also set a new best time in the final of the 100m Butterfly where she achieved 4^th position. Chloe looks a strong contender for the overall 12-year Championship age group title as she continues to pick up points by making the finals of most events.

In the Girl’s 11-year age group, Ellie Townley powered ahead in the last 50m in the heats and final of the 100m Freestyle event and demolished her previous best time to take home the Gold medal. Her winning time takes her well inside the Regional Championship qualifying standard held later in the year at the UEA 50m pool in Norwich.

Runnymede’s Henry Newton added to his growing collection of Gold medals at this year’s Championship by winning the 11-year 200m Butterfly event. Henry was dominant from the start and never looked to be under pressure in this difficult 8 length race. He also added to his collection of Championship pennants by achieving 4^th place in the 200m Individual Medley event in a new best time.

Barton Townley won another Championship title in the final of the Boy’s 10-year 100m Individual Medley to add to his impressive list of titles from the first weekend of the Championships and claim another gold medal. He also looks set to dominate the overall 10-year standings after adding the Silver medal in the 200m Breaststroke event.

In the youngest age group at the Championships, 9-year Ellie Pirrie again showed her potential by winning Silver medals in the 200m Butterfly and 200m Individual Medley events. She added these, and more points for 4^th position in the 200m Freestyle to the 3 Gold’s she one at the first weekend, and leaves her in a good position in the overall standings as the Championship progresses.

15-year age group swimmer Charlotte Davis smashed her previous best time in the 200m Butterfly event to win the Silver medal at these County Championships. Butterfly specialist Charlotte, has now gained a good qualifying time for the Regional Championships later this year. Rory Geoghegan added the Bronze medal for 3^rd place in the 200m Breaststroke for 11-years to the gold he won over 50m in the same stroke at Block A of the Championship. Rory also made the final of the 100m Individual Medley event where he took 4^th position in a hotly contested race. Another of Runnymede’s medal winners was Rebecca Scott in the 16-years and over age group. Rebecca won the bronze medal in the final of the 100m Breaststroke and continues to make progress on the potential she showed as a junior swimmer.

Charlotte Delicata set herself new best times, achieved Regional qualification and finished with top 6 finalist pennants in all 4 events she swam at this block of the Championship. 15-year age group swimmer Charlotte, finished in 4^th position in the 800m Freestyle and 100m Backstroke final, 5^th in the 200m Butterfly event and swum the lead leg of the 200m Women’s Open 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay final for 6^th place with team-mates Charlotte Davis, Charlie Beale and Rebecca Scott.

In the girl’s 10-year events, Madison Townley was in fine form as she swum to three top 6 places. Her best was in the 200m Individual Medley event where she achieved a good 4^th position with a massive personal best improvement. Madison also took 5^th places in the 400m Freestyle and the 200m Backstroke with new best times, and all her swims were for Regional qualifying times. 13-year age group swimmer Alex Delicata produced his best performance of the season to take 5^th place in the final of the 100m Butterfly in a new best time and Regional QT. Alex also achieved 6^th place in the 200m backstroke event and smashed his personal best time. Thomas Giles excelled himself in the boy’s 11-years 400m Individual Medley by taking a well deserved 5^th position and improving his best time to achieve a Regional QT. Jason Daniels achieved Regional qualification and took 6^th place in the boys 14-year 400m Freestyle. Charlotte Hartin swum to a seasons best performance in the girl’s 11-year 100m Breaststroke to achieve 6^th position and Regional qualification.

Runnymede’s other swimmers who all swum well with most achieving personal best times, but were just outside the top 6 positions are: James Carter, Adam Carter, Melissa Knighton, Howard Clarke, James Winnell, Sarah Wright, Elliot Hart, Murphy Talbot, Jonathan Ellis, Ryan Daniels, Oliver Thomas, Matthew Davis, Kelsey Ellerby, Abigail Brown, Patrick Neary, Alice Cain, Shannon Wennington, Ellie-Jade Smith and Donna Spooner.

The success of the club in recent year’s means that it is also looking to expand the number of paid coaching personnel it has available at their training sessions. Qualified ASA level 3 Coaches or level 2 Teachers willing to work 6-8 hours per week at the club with a membership of 200+ swimmers, should contact Secretary Heather Davis on 01702 478380 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