13 May 2007 - 'Gore Blimey' - Thurrock make a splash in Yorkshire
A strong team of swimmers from Thurrock Swimming club recently packed their bags and travelled north to compete at the Level 1 Rotherham Open meet in South Yorkshire.
The weekend long competition took place at Sheffield's Ponds Forge International Sports Centre which hosts a ten lane 50m state of the art swim complex, described by many as one of the finest international competition pools in Europe and one which has played host to many of the worlds top swimmers.
The meet's level one status meant that Borough swimmers were competing against some of the very best swimmers in the UK with some of the nation's premier swimming clubs including Nova Centurion, Millfield and Loughborough University being well represented.
From 53 competing clubs, Team Thurrock finished an incredible fifth place in the overall points total, which is a fitting tribute to the club's successful infrastructure and the dedicated team of coaches, teachers and swimmers.
Not for the first time this season, the Borough's 10 year old girl contingent made their mark and brought home a host of silverware. Rising swim star Amy Gore, continued her recent success when she collected an impressive haul of 4 gold medals (200m IM, 200m breast, 200m back, 100m breast) and 2 silvers (50m and 100m back).
Fellow 10 year old Katherine Stephens also made a big splash, swimming to a hat-trick of gold's in the 100m free, 200m fly and 200m free. Kat also added a hat-trick of silvers (200m IM, 50m fly, 200m back) and a bronze in the 50m back. These outstanding performances saw the Deneholme Primary school pupil crowned as overall points winner in the girls 10 year category, a magnificent achievement given the high standard of competition.
The borough team may well boast one of the strongest 10 year old girls sections in the country at present, as Melissa Cowell, Kayleigh Sims and Rebecca Hayes also added to the medal count. Melissa was in fine form, collecting a hat-trick of bronze medals (200m free, 200m fly, 200m back) and a further two 4th places (200m IM and 100m free). Breastroke specialist, Kayleigh Sims added to her recent haul of breastroke medals by taking gold in the 50m breast and silver in the 200m event. Rebecca Hayes completed the rout, when she swam to silver in the 200m free and two 6th places in the 200m back and 100m free.
And it's not just the 10 year old girls that have an eye for success. Joe Brown competing in the boys 10 year category claimed Thurrock's 3rd hat-trick of gold medals when he won all of the boys butterfly events in this age category. Joe completed a successful weekend by claiming silver in the 200m IM and a bronze in the 200m free.
Thurrock's youngest Essex swim champion, nine year old Salaam Motin, was Thurrock's youngest travelling competitor. Clearly not overwhelmed by the level of competition or the scale of the pool, Salaam achieved Thurrock's biggest gold medal haul of the weekend when he swam to gold's in the 200m back, 200m IM and all three breastroke events.
There were also plenty of medals and top 6 placings achieved by Thurrock swimmers in the older age groups, starting with 11 year old Amy Beardwell-Lacy. Not content with already having qualified for this years national championships, Amy claimed silver medals in the 200m IM and 200m fly to add to a bronze in the 50m fly. Fellow national qualifier Bradley Clarke also collected medals in the 11 year age group with silver in the 200m breast and a bronze in the 200m free. Bradley's impressive swim in this event saw him gain a long-course national qualifying time. Friend and swim buddy Gareth Hawkins collected 4th and 5th places in his favoured 100m and 200m backstroke events in the same age category.
Thurrock's most experienced swimmers also made their mark with Tom Ford swimming to 4th spot in the 15/16 year 200m butterfly. Sister and regional champion Jessica also took a 4th place in the 15/16 year 200m breast to add to 5th spot in the 50m breast. In the same age group, 15 year old Shannon Harold swam to an excellent bronze medal in the 200m free and two 6th places in the 200m breast and 200m IM.
Essex Champion and national qualifier Megan Langridge followed up her outstanding 200m butterfly swim in the regional championships with a 4th place in 13/14 year 200m butterfly. Horndon based Molly Epsly took 6th spot in the same butterfly event and 14 year old Georgie Hunt also claimed 6th places in the 50m and 200m breast. Another swimmer who recently competed at regional level was 15 year old Emma Backhurst, who claimed a fine 5th place in the girls 15/16 year 200m fly.
Back in the pool, following a lengthy lay-off due to injury, fourteen year old Braden Wren, proved he has lost none of his fighting spirit, when he claimed two 5th places in the 50m and 200m fly. Also competing in this age group was 13 year old Charlie Hayes who took 6th spot in the 200m fly.
Thurrock swimmers also produced a whole host of other fine swims and personal bests, many of which were just outside the coveted top 6 places. These were achieved by Charlotte Lamb, Whitney and Charlie Hard, Sonny Ford, Conor Harold, Katie Backhurst, Amy Hatfield, Francesca Day, Kerriann Chipperfield, James Mitchell and Danielle and Abigail Sayer.
The weekend long competition took place at Sheffield's Ponds Forge International Sports Centre which hosts a ten lane 50m state of the art swim complex, described by many as one of the finest international competition pools in Europe and one which has played host to many of the worlds top swimmers.
The meet's level one status meant that Borough swimmers were competing against some of the very best swimmers in the UK with some of the nation's premier swimming clubs including Nova Centurion, Millfield and Loughborough University being well represented.
From 53 competing clubs, Team Thurrock finished an incredible fifth place in the overall points total, which is a fitting tribute to the club's successful infrastructure and the dedicated team of coaches, teachers and swimmers.
Not for the first time this season, the Borough's 10 year old girl contingent made their mark and brought home a host of silverware. Rising swim star Amy Gore, continued her recent success when she collected an impressive haul of 4 gold medals (200m IM, 200m breast, 200m back, 100m breast) and 2 silvers (50m and 100m back).
Fellow 10 year old Katherine Stephens also made a big splash, swimming to a hat-trick of gold's in the 100m free, 200m fly and 200m free. Kat also added a hat-trick of silvers (200m IM, 50m fly, 200m back) and a bronze in the 50m back. These outstanding performances saw the Deneholme Primary school pupil crowned as overall points winner in the girls 10 year category, a magnificent achievement given the high standard of competition.
The borough team may well boast one of the strongest 10 year old girls sections in the country at present, as Melissa Cowell, Kayleigh Sims and Rebecca Hayes also added to the medal count. Melissa was in fine form, collecting a hat-trick of bronze medals (200m free, 200m fly, 200m back) and a further two 4th places (200m IM and 100m free). Breastroke specialist, Kayleigh Sims added to her recent haul of breastroke medals by taking gold in the 50m breast and silver in the 200m event. Rebecca Hayes completed the rout, when she swam to silver in the 200m free and two 6th places in the 200m back and 100m free.
And it's not just the 10 year old girls that have an eye for success. Joe Brown competing in the boys 10 year category claimed Thurrock's 3rd hat-trick of gold medals when he won all of the boys butterfly events in this age category. Joe completed a successful weekend by claiming silver in the 200m IM and a bronze in the 200m free.
Thurrock's youngest Essex swim champion, nine year old Salaam Motin, was Thurrock's youngest travelling competitor. Clearly not overwhelmed by the level of competition or the scale of the pool, Salaam achieved Thurrock's biggest gold medal haul of the weekend when he swam to gold's in the 200m back, 200m IM and all three breastroke events.
There were also plenty of medals and top 6 placings achieved by Thurrock swimmers in the older age groups, starting with 11 year old Amy Beardwell-Lacy. Not content with already having qualified for this years national championships, Amy claimed silver medals in the 200m IM and 200m fly to add to a bronze in the 50m fly. Fellow national qualifier Bradley Clarke also collected medals in the 11 year age group with silver in the 200m breast and a bronze in the 200m free. Bradley's impressive swim in this event saw him gain a long-course national qualifying time. Friend and swim buddy Gareth Hawkins collected 4th and 5th places in his favoured 100m and 200m backstroke events in the same age category.
Thurrock's most experienced swimmers also made their mark with Tom Ford swimming to 4th spot in the 15/16 year 200m butterfly. Sister and regional champion Jessica also took a 4th place in the 15/16 year 200m breast to add to 5th spot in the 50m breast. In the same age group, 15 year old Shannon Harold swam to an excellent bronze medal in the 200m free and two 6th places in the 200m breast and 200m IM.
Essex Champion and national qualifier Megan Langridge followed up her outstanding 200m butterfly swim in the regional championships with a 4th place in 13/14 year 200m butterfly. Horndon based Molly Epsly took 6th spot in the same butterfly event and 14 year old Georgie Hunt also claimed 6th places in the 50m and 200m breast. Another swimmer who recently competed at regional level was 15 year old Emma Backhurst, who claimed a fine 5th place in the girls 15/16 year 200m fly.
Back in the pool, following a lengthy lay-off due to injury, fourteen year old Braden Wren, proved he has lost none of his fighting spirit, when he claimed two 5th places in the 50m and 200m fly. Also competing in this age group was 13 year old Charlie Hayes who took 6th spot in the 200m fly.
Thurrock swimmers also produced a whole host of other fine swims and personal bests, many of which were just outside the coveted top 6 places. These were achieved by Charlotte Lamb, Whitney and Charlie Hard, Sonny Ford, Conor Harold, Katie Backhurst, Amy Hatfield, Francesca Day, Kerriann Chipperfield, James Mitchell and Danielle and Abigail Sayer.