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SPLASH-HIT MEET SEES RECORDS FALL

Friday, May 9, 2008
SPLASH-HIT MEET SEES RECORDS FALL
Rosie Gard was among the successes at the IW Swimming Championships.
Sport/Swimming
ROSIE Gard smashed three records at the IW Swimming Championships at Medina Leisure Centre.
More than 100 swimmers amassed 206 new personal best times at the meet. Medals and awards were presented afterwards by Anne Collins.
In the ten years age group, Izabella Blacklock and James Sterling swept the board, winning all their respective races and taking the overall titles.
In the 11 to 12 years girls’ group, Ella Hillier took the overall title after winning the 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley. Winning the 100m breaststroke and 100m freestyle was Cody Mallett, while Lucy Blake won the 200m freestyle and Rebecca Woodford won the 100m butterfly.
For the boys, Sam Sussmess won the 100m backstroke, 200m individual medley, and 200m freestyle. Jack Ellis won the 100m breaststroke while Charlie Norman won the 100m butterfly and the overall title.
For the 13 to 14 age group, Sophie Alchin (100m backstroke, 200m freestyle) and Annalise Jerram (200m individual medley, 100m butterfly) shared the overall title, with Melissa Hewison winning the 100m breaststroke and Katie Webb winning the 100m freestyle.
Matthew Barber won the overall title after winning all his races, save for the 100m freestyle, which was won by Frankie Baker.
In the 15 to 16 group Mikael Popov swept the board winning all his races and the overall title, while Chelsea Bell (100m breaststroke, 200m freestyle) won the girls’ title. Jennifer Sterling won the other races.
In the 17 to 18 group, Sam Tinson-Wood won all his races except for the 100m breaststroke, won by Mark Alchin.
Steph Gard also won all her races, apart from the 100m backstroke, which was won by Emily Orchard.
Rosie Gard won all her races in the 19 years and over category, breaking records in three of her five races, while Chris Yeates and David Russell shared the spoils, winning two races each.

JOAN AND JENNY ARE MASTERS OF THEIR ART
JOAN Kidd and Jenny Ball are the perfect embodiment of the saying “age is nothing but a number.”
The pair, stalwarts of the IW Masters swimmers, have excelled again in the pool, winning medals in all the events they took part in at the 12th FINA World Masters Championships in Perth, Australia, last month.
Joan, competing for the second time in the 80 to 84 years category, won silver medals for 50m and 100m breaststroke, and her 50m time of 59.45 seconds beat the British Masters’ record. And with a bronze medal in 100m backstroke and fourth places for 200m breaststroke and backstroke, Joan proved yet again what an excellent all-rounder and fit lady she is at nearly 81.
Jenny was equally successful, winning six medals and matching times she swam six years ago. For her the 3km open-water swim along the Swan River was the pinnacle of her week.
The sun shone after a somewhat showery, autumnal spell, the water was 21C and in spite of large but harmless jellyfish for company, Jenny managed a time of 1.07.00 for fifth place in the 70 to 74 years category.
Her other medals were for sixth place in the 800m freestyle, seventh in the 200m backstroke and 400m freestyle, eighth in the 200m freestyle and 100m backstroke.
With just over 4,000 competitors of all ages from 25 to 90 plus, it was a busy schedule for the eight-day meet and medals were presented to the fastest ten swimmers in each event.
Held every two years, the next World Masters Championships will be held in Gothenburg in Sweden in 2010.
• Picture in the Friday, May 9, County Press.

FIVE WARM UP FOR GUADELOUPE
FOUR medals and no fewer than 14 personal best times were recorded by the five IW Swim Team members who took part in the Bournemouth open meet.
Sophie Alchin, Katie Webb, Melissa Hewson and Jamie McDonald all used the event to gauge their performance ahead of the World Youth Island Games in Guadeloupe this summer.
Jamie came away with a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle.
Melissa, although not in the medals, recorded a very good personal best in the 100m freestyle.
Katie swam very well in the 50m backstroke, taking a bronze medal with a new personal best time, and she also recorded a personal best time in the 400m freestyle.
In addition she beat her personal best in the 200m freestyle by three seconds.
Sophie Alchin had an outstanding meet, recording personal best times in all six events she entered. She took a bronze in the 200m backstroke, beating her pb by six seconds.
She also improved personal best times in the 200m individual medley by more than seven seconds, and by more than eight seconds in the 400m freestyle. She crowned a great meet by taking silver in the 50m backstroke, with another pb.
Meanwhile, Mark Alchin just missed out of the medals, coming fourth in both the 200m breaststroke and 200m backstroke, but registered new pb’s in the 100m breaststroke and 200m freestyle.