SWIMMING: SWIMMERS ARE TOP IN COUNTY

West Dorset Swimming Club ended the season on a high note, emerging as the top club at the Dorset County ASA Development Competition held at Littledown, Bournemouth. The Dorchester based club came home with a magnificent tally of 96 medals and won the County Development Trophy for the outstanding performance of its swimmers (See photo below,  left)

The 65 Warriors who took part racked up some impressive statistics: 35 gold medals won, 26 silver, 35 bronze; 228 top eight places, with 209 personal best times achieved. In addition, West Dorset earned 14 Championship best times.

Colin Cracknell, Main Squad coach at West Dorset commented: “I’m really delighted with all the Warriors. West Dorset had neither the most swimmers nor the most swims of all the clubs at the competition, yet we still notched up the most points beating Christchurch and Ferndown, who are two classy outfits. We had 27 medallists and that shows the consistently high standard our swimmers set right across the board. The Warriors were really up for it, were extremely positive all weekend and produced some excellent performances. They tried really hard and swam as fast at the end of a long day as they did at the beginning – there was no let up.”

One of the more notable performances at the competition was put in by 15 year old Liv Thornton, who captured four gold medals, two silvers and earned four Championship best times (CBTs). Thornton also achieved several great personal bests including slashing a full ten seconds off her 200m backstroke to win gold despite being ranked third.

Cracknell added: “I was delighted Liv did so well as she’s trained hard in the last six months. She has had a bumpy ride with her swimming in the last year or two and she’s had the determination to stick with it. Her disciplined and dedicated approach to her training is role model behaviour - she’s really deserved her good results this weekend.”

Other swimmers to earn praise from their coach were all those who qualified for the Skins – a mini competition where the fastest qualifying eight swimmers in a 50m event compete over and over again, with the slowest being eliminated each time until there is finally a winner.

Warriors who made it to the Skins were James Dawson (1st  CBT), Tom Cooper (2nd), Jordan Trewartha (4th), Jess Northcote (4th) and Peter Horne (6th CBT).

Cracknell explained: “These guys did particularly well because at the end of a long day competing, the Skins is a gruelling event and they were really punching above their weight. Apart from James Dawson, who was seeded number one and who was in fact the winner, they all outperformed their rankings and got excellent results.”

Amongst the older swimmers fourteen year old Cooper had an all round good competition with three golds, a silver and four bronzes and an impressive nine personal best times. Meanwhile Northcote, 15, showed how much she’s improved by notching up nine huge lifetime bests, earning herself a silver and two bronzes. Seventeen year old Lauren Podger also earned a considerable tally of points for her club with five golds and a silver, while Peter Thornton, 13, won four golds with four CBTs.

The younger swimmers also did themselves proud – ten year old Charlie Hitchcock won no less than ten medals including three golds and earning himself two Championship best times. Twelve year old James Ross captured nine medals, while eleven year old Will Taylor notched up four golds and a bronze. And for the girls, Beth Guy excelled in the breastroke events with two golds and a bronze.

In addition, the Warriors’ coaching team were pleased to see a broad range of swimmers on the podium, including Flora Johnson, Gemma Wellman, Charlotte Matthews, Aoife McCarthy, Tom Matthews, Scott Civil (CBT), Joe Foard, Dean Kenny and Chris Brock. 

Warriors with greatly improved times include Amber Cornick, Stuart Ring, Gemma Hughes, Peter Horne, Ellie Davies, Beth Letherby, Ethan Williams, Luke Voss, Jessica Ohnstad, Katie Christian-Drage, Bradley Mullins, Oliver Mullins, James Cartwright, Laura Chitty, Amie Buttle, Harry Buttle and  Charlotte Mansell.

Cracknell added: “There were numerous swimmers who didn’t win a medal but either improved so much or tried so hard that they really impressed me. We shall be keeping an eye on their good progress and that’s what the Development Meet is all about. ”