Swim England Summer Championships 2018

August 7th 2018

After Plymouth Leander’s great success last week at the British Summer Championships and the Swim England Open Water Festival, expectations were high for those remaining in Sheffield to swim at the Swim England Summer Meet.

Days 1 and 2

Benjamin Fannon won the 16yrs 100m Breaststroke in a time just outside his heat swim, which was a 4 second PB! Joseph Thompson finished a close 4th after improving 0.9 seconds from his heat swim, which was already a 1.5 second PB. Benjamin Fannon swam his 2nd final of the night, men’s 50m Freestyle, and in a close race was touched into 10th. Next up was the men’s 200m Freestyle. Batuhan Paker swam under 2 minutes for the first time, and finished in 6th place in the 16yrs category. A fantastic performance, smashing his PB by 2 seconds in the finals.

Rounding out day 2 we had Joseph Thompson, who swam under 1 minute for the first time in the 16yrs 100m Butterfly. He improved on his entry time by 1.5 seconds and knocked a further 0.7 off his heat time.

Congratulations on Gold Medal: Benjamin Fannon 16yrs 100m Breaststroke.

Congratulations on Finals: Benjamin Fannon 16yrs 100m Breaststroke (1st) and 16yrs 50m Freestyle (10th), Joseph Thompson 16yrs 100m Breaststroke (4th) and 16yrs 100 Butterfly (7th), Batuhan Paker 16yrs 200m Freestyle (6th).

Congratulations on Personal Bests: Batuhan Paker 200m Freestyle, Joseph Thompson 100m Butterfly and 100m Breaststroke, Benjamin Fannon 100m Breaststroke and 50m Freestyle.

Benjamin Fannon pictured with gold medal.

Benjamin Fannon pictured during 100m Breaststroke final (photo credit @swpix_cycling)

Days 3, 4 and 5

Day 3 resulted in an impressive (and appropriate!) 3 medals, including 2 in the Men’s 800m Freestyle! As a new event added to the programme for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, it was great to see three of our swimmers qualify for this race at nationals. Alireza Maleki swam close to his lifetime best, as did Jay Snowden, who won an excellent bronze in the 18yrs+ age group. Hubert Gdaniec swam a 13 second PB in order to claim a well deserved bronze medal for the 13/14yr olds. Hubert then showed off his amazing versatility by winning gold in the 13/14yrs 50m Backstroke. Two medals and three PBs in one day in such different distances is quite an achievement! Batuhan Paker swam well in the 100m Freestyle to finish 10^th and was just outside his PB from the heats

Day 4 began with some excellent heats, and the finals kicked off with Sean Grey in the 200m Butterfly. Sean swam under 2.10 for the first time and finished in a very respectable 7th place from lane 0. Next, in the men’s 50m Breaststroke Joseph Thompson finished in 9th place after a PB. Isobel Bryant swam an excellently to make the final in the 12/13yrs 100m Backstroke, swimming a PB in the morning. She wasn’t fazed by the bright lights that shine for the finals session, and under the spotlight managed to swim another PB to finish in 9th place. Tobias Fredericks rounded out the night for Plymouth, finishing in 7th in the 100m Backstroke. Tobias swam a PB in the morning to reach the finals.

Day 5, the last finals for Plymouth Leander for another season, saw another remarkable performance from Plymouth College swimmers. Oscar North swam in the 13/14yrs 50m Butterfly and swam an excellent race from an outside lane, managing to stay with the leading few swimmers for most of the race. He finished in 8th place only a second outside of his PB.

A great finish to a great season, with plenty to work on for next year. For now, have an amazing summer break.

Congratulations on Gold Medal: Hubert Gdaniec 14rs 50m Backstroke.

Congratulations on Bronze Medals: Hubert Gdaniec 14yrs 800m Freestyle, Jay Snowden 18yrs+ 800m Freestyle.

Congratulations on Finals: Batuhan Paker 16yrs 100m Freestyle (10th), Hubert Gdaniec 14yrs 50m Backstroke (1st), Joseph Thompson 16yrs 50m Breaststroke (9th), Isobel Bryant 12/13yrs 100m Backstroke (9th), Sean Grey 18yrs+ 200m Fly (7th), Tobias Fredericks 16yrs 100m Backstroke (7th), Oscar North 15yrs 400m Freestyle (8th).

Congratulations on Personal Bests: Batuhan Paker 100m Freestyle, Hubert Gdaniec 800m Freestyle and 50m Backstroke, Joseph Thompson 50m Breaststroke, Tobias Fredericks 100m Backstroke, Sean Grey 200m Butterfly, Isobel Bryant 100m Backstroke.