21 Jun 2011

Pershore's Swimmers in Great Form

Entering one of the youngest squads in this years County Relay Championships, Pershore Swimming Club were trying to give their nine year old swimmers more high quality and county experience ready for next year. It worked out well with the four boys led by Tyler McLean (the only ten year old in the mix) 9 year olds Josh Sharratt, Simon Sweatman and Christopher Vizard were made ready for battle. They were joined for the girls by Daisy Tolley (9), Beth Snape (10), Makenzie Christys (10) and Hannah Simister (10) with Maisy Robertson (10), Jasmine Taite (10) and Amy Weston (9) replacing all but Christys in the Medley Relay.

Immediately the boys showed their potential even qualifying for the finals with Sharratt (39.26), Vizard (40.91), and Sweatman (34.79) setting personal bests (pb's) and impressing with a 5th place in a time of 2.31.28 only 4 secs outside Pershore's bronze medal winning team last year. In the afternoon's Medley Relay the 9/10 boys (last year's quartet won gold) again made it through to the finals with once more set pb's with Vizard (backstroke leg 47.80), Sharratt (fly 45.52) and Sweatman (free 34.74) and again finishing in 5th place.

Not to be outdone the 9/10 girls also set some good pb's in their 4 x 50m freestyle race with Snape (42.28), Simister (42.03), Tolley (44.03) reached their finals as they did in the Medley Relay with all four making pb's with Weston (back 43.80), Christys (breaststroke 50.94), Robertson (fly 51.31) and Taite (free 40.07) finishing in a time of 3.07.39.

For the next age group up the 11/12 girls of Ella Spencer (12), Lizzie Vizard (12), Alison Seward (11) and Tazmin Pugh (11) and 11/12 boys made up of Michael Evans (12), Drew Jones (11), Jack Betteridge (11) and Joseph Doyle (11) would have a job matching the success of their younger counterparts.

Setting new pb's in the heats of the 4 x 50m Medlay Relay, Seward (back 36.86), Vizard (breast 49.91), and Pugh (fly 33.90) achieved a 5th place with Pugh (fly 33.74) and Vizard (breast 40.37) going even quicker in the finals came home in 2.24.07 being an impressive 30 secs quicker than last year's 11/12 team from Pershore. The afternoon's session found the same quartet in the 4 x 50m freestyle making it through to the finals and yet again recording a faster time (15 secs quicker) than last year's team with Vizard (34.73) and Pugh (30.07) getting pb's initial in the heats and Vizard going even better in the finals with 34.97 the four recording 2.12.86. Seward and Pugh will be eligible for the 11/12 age group relays again next year so once again bodes well for 2012.

For the 11/12 boys were impressive in making the finals in both relays. In the Medley Relay new pb's were set by Jones (breast 42.18), Betteridge (fly 40.13) and Evans (free 33.72) adding a team club record in the heats of 2.35.67. In the 4 x 50m freestyle Jones (33.13) and Doyle (33.59) set pb's in the heats with each member of the team swimming marginally slower in the finals in a time of 2.18.05.

Ashley Gribble (14), Rhiannon Cordiner (13), Megan Tolley (13) and Katie Sharratt (13) made up the final quartet from Pershore with Sharratt recording a pb in the the first breaststroke leg of the Medley with 38.98 and as did Tolley in the final freestyle leg with 34.19. Gribble (31.35) and Sharratt (34.50) set pb's in the 4 x 50m freestyle relay though their time of 2.28.25 unable to make headway into the finals.

Following the conclusion of the Championship Relays all the clubs in the county were invited to send their fastest swimmers to make England's attempt to break the Guinness Book World Record of 100 x 100m freestyle relay time which a German team had held for some time. Pershore were represented by Harry Sykes (13) and 11 year old Tazmin Pugh (being the youngest member of the whole 100 swimmer World Record attempt). After the referee blew his whistle for the first swimmer to set off 1hour 43 minutes 53.33 seconds later they had become the latest World Record holders beating the previous one by some ten minutes an average per swimmer for each 100m of 1.03.53.

Ian


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