Paige Critchley.
SWIMMING THERE were sensational results last weekend for West Wight Swimming Club stars, at national and local level.
Paige Critchley, 17, and Luke Herbert, 13, were both selected to represent Hampshire in the annual National Inter Counties Champion-ships in Sheffield.
Luke achieved an impressive PB time of 1.05.13 in the 100m backstroke which puts him in the UK’s top five for his age.
Paige produced an all-time best performance in the 100m breaststroke, in 1.15.27, and also swum her fastest split time in the 4 x 50m medley relay in 34.53.
While Luke and Paige were competing in Sheffield, 11 other West Wight swimmers raced in Southampton for the annual James Moreno open meet.
Lottie James, 12, won medals in all eight events she competed in with PBs in all, and gold in three.
In her first event, the 200m medley, Lottie’s time of 2.38.59 was the second fastest time of all girl competitors.
In the same age group Molly Fennimore, 11, had a sensational meet, producing PBs in all her events and with 40 other swimmers in that same age group, Molly was still very close to medal contention.
The youngest swimmers included Millie Shannon, Grace Poynter and Benji Curliss, all ten, and they all swum well under their PB times. Benji achieved Hampshire County Championship qualifying times in the 200m and 50m freestyle, and in the 50m backstroke, as did Grace in the 50m breaststroke and 200m medley.
Sid McLaren, 13, competed in a very competitive age group and won gold in the 50m freestyle and bronze in the 50m butterfly, while Charlie Fennimore gained a PB in the 50m freestyle.
In the open 15 years and over category Ella Hillier, 16, had the longest day. Starting in the early morning 400m free event and finishing with the last event of the day, Ella clocked over 12 hours poolside.
She won bronze in the 100m butterfly in a PB time and was very close to her PBs in all other events.
Bethany Jerram, who has made a huge comeback in the pool, gained two more Island Games training times in the 50m and 100m butterfly. In the 100m, Bethany’s PB time of 1.11.35 won her a silver medal and she gained PBs in all her other events.
Senior swimmers Beth Dyer and Matthew Barber, both 18, competed well beyond their expectations considering they were out of training during the week due to colds. Both Beth and Matthew produced times very close to their best and showed their years of experience in the pool with the fastest starts and turns. Matthew won bronze in the 50 breaststroke.