A total of 20 Wear Valley swimmers from the “Dolphin” and “Junior” squads gained some fantastic results at a recent gala held at the Louisa Centre, Stanley over the weekend of 2/3 March 2019. For 10 of these swimmers, it was their first inter-club competitive gala and they were delighted with their results when compared with their entry times. Some also gained their first medals with medals being awarded to the top 6 swimmers in each age group.
Annemarie Kelley and Beatrice Forsyth both took over 10 seconds off their entry times in the 50m backstroke (back) and 50m breaststroke events. Charlotte Strugnell swam 8 seconds faster than her entry time for the 50m freestyle (free) and won a 5th place medal for this event. Holly Roe also swam 9 seconds faster in her 50m back and 4 seconds faster than her entry time in the 50m breaststroke. Isobel Micklethwait swam 8 seconds faster than her entry time in the 50m free. Logan Hunter competed in 4 events for the first time and won a 4th place in the 50m breaststroke. Lola Copeland came 5th in the 50m breaststroke. Lydia Quinn swam 3 events for the first time and finished 4th in the 50m back. Oliver Hunter won a gold medal in the 50m butterfly (fly) and this was the very first time that he has competed in this event! He also gained a 4th place in the 50m free. Roberta Antonescu gained a 6th place in the 50m back.
Adam Readman gained two 5th place medals in the 100m and 200m free, together with a 10 second personal best (pb) in the 200m free. Ella Sowerby won a silver medal in the 100m fly and came 4th in the 50m back. Ethan Flint swam pbs in both of his 50m and 100m free events. Joseph Brown won a bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke and was placed 6th in the 50m fly, 50m and 100m back. Katie Brooks-Shea swam the 100m back for the first time in a competitive gala and swam 10 seconds faster than her entry time. Lauren Flint swam a total of 8 events, gained 3 pbs in events she has swam previously and was considerably faster than her entry times for her 5 other events. Lauren also came 4th in the 200m back and 200m breaststroke which were “first time” swims. Maia Humphreys gained a 3 second pb in the 50m free. Mia Featherstone also swam a 2 second pb in the 100m free. Nicole Walker competed in 8 events and gained an 8 second pb in the 100m Individual Medley, a bronze medal in the 200m back and a 6th place in the 100m back. Owen Potter swam in 6 events and gained some massive pbs, including 9 seconds off his 100m free and 6 seconds off the 100m breaststroke. Owen also won a 5th place in this event.
This was a fantastic swimming gala for all of the debutants and young swimmers. Most of the athletes swam faster than their entry times and/or gained pbs and some even won some medals for the first time! Overall a very impressive first-time gala. Many thanks to the coaches and parents for their continued support and encouragement.