Worcester Swimming Club showed its strength in depth at the recent 2016 Worcestershire Relay Championships held at Wolverhampton, coming away with a staggering 16 first places out of 32 finals, and podium finishes in 29 races.  The club also came away with three age group Championship Best Times (CB) and a new senior (open) County Record in the Medley relay, with the Masters swimmers producing a string of excellent performances.

Victories came thick and fast throughout the day, with the first gold won in the Masters category (combined aged between 101 – 139 years) in the 4 x 50m mixed freestyle for Joel Smith, Helen Annis, Alison Etheridge and Robin Williams.

Worcester didn’t have to wait long for gold number two, this time courtesy of the girls 15/16 year 4 x 50m medley team, with Ellie McGinnes, Lucy Clayton, Yasemin Tayar and Sophie Davis winning well.

The Ladies Masters (101 – 139 years) quartet of Dani Hunt, Alex Pritchard, Helen Annis and Alison Etheridge were too strong for their opposition in the 4 x 50m medley, taking gold in dominant fashion; and the Men’s Masters team (101 – 139 years) of John Pridden, Ewan Martin, Robin Williams and Joel Smith also took gold in the 4 x 50m medley with a clear margin of victory.

It was a similar story in the Ladies Masters (140 years +) 4 x 50m Medley with Kate Lloyd, Emma Armstrong, Orla Mahanta and Tracey Tayar showing that they can still mix it with the best and taking gold in style. In the Men’s Masters (140 years +), Malcolm Latta, Simon Richards, Paul Tainty and Andy Shepherd took gold in the 4 x 50m Medley by over half a length.

The first of Worcester’s three record-breaking swims was delivered in the girl’s 13/14 years’ age group in the 4 x 50m Medley.  Pre-race favourites Jenny Gearey, Olivia Fletcher, Charlotte Hall and Megan Annis produced a new age group CBT of 2.05.54 in their heats which also turned out to be a Senior Open County Record which is a phenomenal achievement. They then went on to win gold with another superb performance in the final to complete a very successful morning session for Worcester.

In the afternoon finals, the mixed Masters team (101-139 years) of Hunt, Pritchard, Martin and Pridden ensured Worcester got back into winning ways, taking victory in the 4 x 50m medley; and then the mixed Masters team (140 + years) also snatched gold in the Medley final with Lloyd, Richards, Mahanta and Shepherd delivering the goods.

In the Ladies Masters (101 – 139 years) 4 x 50m freestyle, the team of Annis, Etheridge, Pritchard and Hunt never looked challenged as they made it ten golds for Worcester, and the Men’s Master quartet of Williams, Pridden, Martin and Smith notched up gold number eleven in the same age group event.

The winning Ladies Master team (140 years +) were back in action in the afternoon in the 4 x 50m freestyle, with yet another superb win for Mahanta, Armstrong, Tayar and Lloyd.  In the Men’s Masters (140 years +) freestyle relay, Latta and Tainty were joined by Mark Abel and Steve Yates on the anchor leg who also stormed to victory.

Worcester’s last three golds came in the younger age groups, with an excellent win for the boy’s 11/12 4 x 50m medley team of Daniel Day, George Glover, Issac Shepherd and Oliver Foster, holding their nerve to claim their first team county gold.

Fresh from breaking the County record, the girl’s 13/14 quartet of Hall, Annis, Gearey and Fletcher proved again to be far too strong for the opposition in the 4 x 50m freestyle relay, producing another age group CBT of 1.53.19, beating the previous record by 2 seconds.

The Club’s final gold came in the boy’s 13/14-year age group and another age group CBT.  Kai Gooden-Morris, Harvey Lloyd, Matthew Richards and William Gearey led from start to finish, clocking 1.46.74 in the heats to smash the previous CBT of 1.48.69 and take gold.

Other podium finishes were:

Silver

  • Boys 15/16 years’ medley relay + freestyle relay
  • Girls 11/12 years’ freestyle relay
  • Boys 11/12 years’ freestyle relay
  • Girls 17-24 years’ freestyle relay
  • Boys 17-24 years’ freestyle relay
  • Girls 15/16 years’ freestyle relay
  • Girls 9/10 year’s medley relay

Bronze

  • Mixed Masters freestyle relay (140+ years)
  • Girls 9/10 years’ freestyle relay
  • Boys 9/10 years’ freestyle relay + medley relay
  • Boys 17-24 years’ medley relay

Worcester ended their best-ever County championships with 16 golds, 8 silver and 5 bronze medals as well as taking away the coveted Top Overall Club, Top Male and Top Female team awards.

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