WORCESTER Swimming Club rounded off their 2014-15 season with some stunning showings at the National Summer Championships.
After a string of excellent results in the March-May qualifying window, seven individuals and one relay team from the club tested themselves against the best in the country.
Worcester’s best performer in the British Championship was Lucy Clayton who continued her improvement this year with another personal best time.
Competing in the 16s 50 metres breaststroke, she recorded an impressive 34.63 seconds but narrowly missed the final by a mere 0.43.
As the tournament was split into two sections, with the next 20 quickest qualifiers competing in the home nations events, Worcester were able to make a real impact.
The event held in Swansea saw 12-year olds Olivia Fletcher and Matt Richards showcase their talents across a wide range of strokes and distances.
Olivia qualified for ten finals and although fractionally outside the medals in several events, did secure an impressive bronze in both the 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke along with a well-deserved silver for her superb 1.03.47 in the 100m freestyle.
Matthew, meanwhile, set personal best times in every event and picked up five medals in the process.
He won bronze in the 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley plus three silvers in the 400m individual medley, 50m butterfly and 50m backstroke, finishing just 0.30 and 0.12 seconds off gold in the two sprints events.
The English Championships followed in Sheffield where the Worcester swimmers truly excelled, claiming three medals and a number of personal bests.
There was also a British record broken as para-swimmer Becky Redfern reduced her own 100m breaststroke British time in the S.13 visually impaired classification to 1.20.56. This was enough to win gold and set herself up for a tilt at qualification for Rio next year.
Another medallist in the breaststroke events was 15-year-old Sam Hall, who qualified for the 100m and 200m finals with big personal bests.
Whilst he had to settle for sixth in the 200m final, a storming last 25m saw Sam grab a bronze in the 100m final in 1.11.01, with just 0.34 seconds separating five swimmers at the touch.
The club’s other breaststroke specialist, James Marsh, made his first ever national final with a time of 2.28.01 to clinch eighth place.
Fellow senior swimmer Robin Williams was certainly not to be outdone, as he recorded two life-time bests in as many butterfly finals.
The 25-year-old finished fifth in the 100m final, but bounced back to win silver in the 50m event, just 0.04 behind the winner.
The fortnight of competition was then rounded off by the men’s 4 x 100m medley relay team of Mike Adair, James Marsh, Robin Williams and Anthony Redfern.
Having secured their spot at the championships from the regional meet in May with a time of 4.06.41, the team clocked 3.58.99 in the heats and then 3.57.60 in the final.
The quartet each set personal best splitting 1.03.30, 1.05.90, 55.67 and 52.73 respectively for the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle legs to finish fourth.
Head coach Mark Stowe said: “These swimmers work incredibly hard to hone their skills and get in the best possible shape for these championships so to see them perform wonderfully well was a real pleasure. I’m thrilled for each and every one of them.”