Winsford Swimming Club

After our success at the National Open Water Championships it was onto the British Summer Championships in Sheffield.  The top 24 swimmers in Great Britain all come together to race and compete for National honours.  Winsford Swim Team had Jordan Gaskell and Adam Blackshaw going in the 200 Butterfly.  Both swimmers were looking to race well and see if they could improve on their ranking.  First up was Adam who was competing in the 16 years age group, Adam had a decent swim racing to form and on his current PB. Adam's swim placed him 20th in GBR, a very good achievement but I know there is a lot more to come from this young man next season.  Next up was Jordan who was competing in the 17-18 years age group, this was always going to be a tougher year as Jordan is still 17 but this was not to deter him.  Jordan swam a time of 2.10.01 and like Adam placing him 20th overall in the joint 17-18 age group and 9th in his 17 years age category.  Next year Jordan will again be in the 17-18 age group but he will be a year older, bigger, stronger and fitter and no doubt will be looking for Final placings.  Well done to both men, I know Winsford Swim Team will have many more swimmers competing at the British Summer Champs 2017.  Also Vicky Cunningham was competing and representing Loughborough, she has come right the way through the club.  Vicky had some super swims in the 19 over age category coming home 4th in the 200 Free, 9th in the 50 Free and 6th in the 100 Free.

Next up was the ASA English National Championships which again took place in Sheffield Ponds Forge. Winsford Swim Team had an additional 9 qualifiers for these championships. 

Day 1: We had three swimmers competing, first up was Will Murray for which this was his first Nationals, Will was racing in the 100 Brst, Will had a super swim, racing on PB and gaining 18th place in the 15 years age.  This race was good experience for the 50 Brst later in the week.  Next up was Ryan Wheeler in the 200 Free, and Ryan had a great swim recording a new PB and gaining 13th place narrowly missing out on the final.  Finally Jay Cushen was racing in the 400 IM in the 13-14 years, Jay had an outstanding swim achieving a big PB gaining 7th spot and a place in the final later in the evening.  In the final Jay was determined to swim to his best ability and he did exactly that coming home in 7th spot which was fantastic as Jay is still 13 racing swimmers a year or more older.  That swim now ranks Jay 5th in GBR for the 13 years 400 IM.

Day 2: Winsford Swim Team were looking to build upon the results from Day 1.  We had Ryan going up first in the 100 Fly, and he raced phenomenally achieving a massive new PB time of 1.02.62 and giving him a slot in the Final.  Next up was Jay this time racing the 200 Brst, Jay gave a good swim looking strong over the first 100, he came in slightly off PB but again some great experience for this talented young man racing up an age.  Jay is ranked top 10 in GBR for the 200 Brst.  Henry Oliver was up next in the 1500 Free, Henry has come on leaps and bounds in his swimming and is another young talent who has come through our club system from a young age.  Henry again gave a good account of himself coming home second in his heat, and placing 8th overall in the 13-14 years age category, it was a little bit off PB however the heat panned out in a way where all competitors were wide apart so all were in effect racing a time trial.  This is the second time Henry has been at the Nationals and has now become a regular qualifier in the 1500 Free pool and open water competitions, he is an excellent distance swimmer.  
In the evening Ryan was going into the 100 Fly final ranked 2nd so we were looking to gain a medal and maybe even Gold.  Ryan was focused and determined and had an incredible swim gaining the Gold medal and achieving another new PB time of 1.01.64, knocking over 2 seconds off his old PB time.  This swim would have made the final at the British Summer Championships and now ranks him 12th in GBR, Well done mate!

Day 3: We had Izzy Burton and Ethan Jones in the 50 Bk, for Izzy this was her second year as a national swimmer.  Izzy swam to form and came home in 15th place in the 16 years age group, narrowly missing the final but again she gave a great account of herself.  I am sure she will be looking to push on next season to try and gain qualification in the 100 Bk.  Next up was Ethan Jones in the same event, this was Ethan's first national championships however this did not effect him one bit.  Ethan swam a superb new PB of 30.69 coming in 12th place.  A fantastic achievement from this young man.

Day 4: This was the day where we had our highest number competing.  Jay Cushen, Finn Armitt, Abbie Christopherson, Will Murray and Ethan Jones were all in action.  First up was the lads 200 Fly for both Jay and Finn.  Jay was in heat one, swimming a super race and achieving a time of 2.22.99 and a new PB, this placed Jay 9th English swimmer home but unfortunately due to foreign swimmers being allowed to enter the English championships he missed out on a final spot.  Jay's time ranks him in the Top 10 in GBR for the 200 Fly in the boys 13 years age category.  Next up was Finn in the the same age category 13-14 years.  For Finn this was his second national championships, Finn had an outstanding race achieving a time of 2.21.09 and a massive new PB and a place in the evening's final.  Next to race was Abbie in the 12-13 years 200 Fly, Abbie swam superbly well gaining a time of 2.31.06 and ranking her 5th for the final later in the evening.  Next to race was Will Murray in the 50m Brst, Will attacked the race superbly and clocked a new PB of 33.01 nearly a second faster than his old PB, unfortunately we just missed out on the final coming in 1st reserve.  However this did not take away his superb swim, well done.  Last but definitely not least Ethan was racing in the 100 Bk, Ethan had another good swim, racing with great fight, coming in on PB pace and achieving a 13th place.  
On Day 4 we had two finalists, first up was Finn Armitt in the boys 13-14 years 200 Fly.  Finn went into the final with a chance of gaining a medal, unfortunately we just missed out coming in 5th place but Finn for the second time beat his old PB and swam with outstanding courage.  Finn is now ranked 18th in GBR for the boys 14 years age category and very close to a top 10 spot.  I know he will be looking for GBR Summer National Qualification next year.  Top swimmer, Top boy, an absolute pleasure to coach well done mate. Our second final of the evening was again in the 200 Fly, but it was in the girls 12-13 years category.  Abbie had another superb race.  Abbie came home in 9th spot an absolute fantastic achievement considering she only did her first 200 Fly race a couple of moths ago.  Abbie is now ranked 17th in the whole of GBR for the girls 13 years 200 fly, definitely more to come with more experience racing this event.  Abbie is one tough cookie!

Day 5: Was the final day of racing, we had Ethan Jones racing in the 200 Bk first.  Ethan again had a superb race, coming in on PB pace and coming home in as 10th English swimmer, unfortunately there was a foreign competitor who gained a faster time causing Ethan to miss the final being meaning Ethan was 1st reserve.  This was a shame but nothing can be taken away from Ethan's achievement at his first ever national championships.  It is also worthy to note there was no other 13-14 year old swimmer at the English Summer National Championships who gained qualification in all the Bk events 50,100 & 200, this just shows how good Ethan is at this stroke, well done mate, the future is very bright because he has the right attitude to training and racing.  The final race of the morning was Ryan in the lads 50 Fly, Ryan again had a superb race achieving a new PB time of 28.08 and again reaching the final later in the evening.
Last race of the day and meet was Ryan in the lads 50 Fly final.  Ryan had a chance of another medal but unfortunately we just missed out, but Ryan again swum faster than his old PB and the whole final of 10 swimmers were within 0.5 seconds of each other, so very close.  Ryan however should not feel down because he has achieved a 100% PB rate all week, again his training and attitude is first class, well done mate!.

I would also like to mention Dan Hulme who qualified for the English Summer Nationals in the 200 IM, 400 IM and 1500 Free, unfortunately he couldn't compete due to illness but I am sure Dan will come back stronger and fitter than ever before next season.

Overall this has been a superb National Championships for Winsford Swim Team, we have had 11 swimmers qualify for the pool and an additional 8 swimmers qualify in the open water.  Well Done to all qualifiers, hard work does pay off,  be proud of the preparation you gave leading into the championships, be proud of your achievements and results.  I would also like to thank all parents in your support in your child's swimming career and a huge thank you to all swimmers, I can't put into words how grateful I am to each and every one of you.

Champions are not the people who never fail, but the people who never quit. Whether we win, lose or draw in my eyes you are all CHAMPIONS. Dan.