Worcester swimmers continued where they left off from the first weekend of events when the Worcestershire County Championships resumed on 8th & 9th March at Wolverhampton pool.
They racked up another 73 medals to bring the 2014 total to a massive 133… comfortably the highest in recent years.
Again, Worcester swimmers excelled in the most prestigious senior/open events with no less than 8 different swimmers winning Championship medals!
Most successful of all was Tabitha Monkhouse. Unsurprisingly, she was a long way clear of her rivals in the 50m & 100m Breaststroke, events in which she is one of the top ranked swimmers in the country… but she had to display all her skills and determination to claim a brilliant Gold medal in the 200m Individual Medley, just ahead of fast finishing team mate Megan Willetts who produced a superb 3-second PB to take Silver.
Megan was evidently in fine form and claimed her first senior County Championship title with a dominant display in the 200m Backstroke, leading all the way to win in a hugely impressive 2.17.28.
Also, in the Ladies open events, Alice O’Toole retained her 50 Freestyle title with a splendid 27.35, a tiny 0.07 seconds ahead of team mate Eloise van Vuren who back from University at Loughborough, also claimed Silver in the 100m Freestyle… whilst Lucy Clayton chased Tabby home for a well deserved Bronze in the 50m Breaststroke, a significant achievement for a 14-year old.
The men were not to be outdone though with Mike Adair (Silver 200m Backstroke), James Marsh (Bronze 50m & 100m Breaststroke) and Robin Williams (Silver 50m Freestyle, Bronze 100m Freestyle) all making it on to the Championship podium.
In the age group events, though, the younger swimmers definitely stole the show….
In the 10’s, Ellie Bainbridge and Alex Rosser-Barnett both won another 8 medals each… Ellie an incredible 7 Gold to finish Top Girl in her Age Group… and Alex 2 Gold in the 200m Butterfly and 200 Individual Medley, each in superb Midland Qualifying Times.
In the 11’s, Matthew Richards was in the medals again with 5 Bronze…and critically several Midland Qualifying Times including the 200m Backstroke and the 400m Freestyle… but without doubt, it was the performances of the girls that really caught the eye with Olivia Fletcher and Jenny Gearey adding another 5 medals this weekend and finishing 1st & 2nd overall in their Age Group respectively.
Jenny was on fire with 3 new Midland QT’s in the 100m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle and 200m Individual Medley. She won Gold in the 200m Backstroke in an impressive 2.41.46 (another Midland QT), albeit only 0.29 seconds ahead of Olivia in 2nd who had already won the 50 Freestyle, 100m Freestyle and 200m IM!!!
In the 12s, medals were harder to come by but Sophie Davis continued her rich vein of form with Bronze in the 100m Breaststroke whilst Amy Owens delivered arguably the best swim of the weekend to record 1.06.88 for 100m Freestyle, a Midland QT.
The 13-year old girls were again sharing out the medals, albeit none Gold this weekend…with Alice Hayden Jones (Silver 100m Breaststroke, Bronze 50m Breaststroke), Yasemin Tayar (Silver 200m Backstroke), Hattie Goff (Silver 200m Butterfly), Daisy Ellis (Bronze 200m Butterfly) and Freya Lines (Bronze 50m Freestyle) proving yet again what strength in depth the Club has here.
In the 14s, Caitlin Adair won Bronze in the 50m Breaststroke… also claiming a place alongside Tabby and Lucy in the Championship final, her first ever, then improving on her Heats time for an excellent Midland QT.
Other medalists deserving of special mention include Issac Shepherd (Silver in 10’s 50m Freestyle) and Leyla Tayar (Bronze in 11’s 200m Butterfly), both of whom showed real promise for the future.