Three members of Weston Swimming Club enjoyed success at the British Summer Swimming Championships in Sheffield.

THREE members of Weston Swimming Club all gave memorable performances at the British Summer Swimming Championships held at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.

Eighteen-year old Marcus Gardiner, 16-year old Evan King and 13-year old Rachel Anderson had worked hard all season to qualify for the finals.

Competing for the first time, Rachel held back the nerves to secure fastest 13-year-old in the 200m freestyle finals, winning a bronze medal in the 13/14 age group, with an impressive two second personal best.

She was closely followed by Evan, who also smashed her PB in her own age group, exceeding expectations and jumping from 10th seed to ninth in the 200m freestyle finals.

Later in the day also saw further notable performances from Evan in the 50m butterfly, finishing 16th overall with a time of 29.48 seconds, and a massive 1.5 second PB in her first-ever 200m individual medley final, with Rachel hot on her toes to secure 14th place overall.

Day two saw impressive performances from all three swimmers, with Rachel continuing to smash her PBs in the 100m backstroke to finish fourth overall, while playing to her strengths in the 800m freestyle to secure fastest 13-year-old once more.

Rachel’s success was once again mirrored by Evan, who PB’d twice in one day during the heats and final of the 100m butterfly, proudly achieving sixth overall.

For club captain, Marcus, the championships served as an opportunity to round off his years at Weston as he looks to the future in securing a place at Plymouth University in September.

He finished just outside his PB in a time of 30.22 seconds in the 50m breaststroke finals to secure ninth overall after a hectic and stressful year of A-level exams.

As day three dawned, the swimmers remained resilient, with Evan and Rachel both competing in the 100m freestyle, both finishing 13th respectively, with Rachel adding yet another PB to her extensive collection.

Day four proved a busy day, with Evan competing in her favourite event, the 200m butterfly, pacing well to finish just outside the top three with an impressive time of 2.15.98, followed by Marcus who embarked on his second event of the week, the 100m breaststroke, securing a place in the finals with his heat swim of 1.05.01 to finish 10th overall.

Rachel also proved that she could cope with the strenuous workload, producing a two second PB in the final of the 200m backstroke, finishing third overall and again being the fastest 13-year-old in Great Britain.

On the penultimate day, Marcus swam his last race for Weston, with a respectable performance in the 200m breaststroke, finishing 22nd overall. Rachel did not let the team effort down either, securing her place as the second fastest 13-year-old and ninth overall in the 400m individual medley.

After a day of rest, Evan was able to take the 400m freestyle in her stride to close her championships with a one second PB, defying expectations once more to jump two places in the final to finish eighth.

Closing Weston’s championships, Rachel also triumphed in the 400m freestyle, not only securing a four second PB in the heats with a time of 4.27.97, but then adding to her outstanding performance with another five second PB in the finals with a time of 4.22.80, being rewarded with an exceptional first place.

Despite the busy morning, she was then able to follow suit, ending the week with a solid swim in the 50m freestyle to achieve 16th place overall.

If you are interested in sponsoring our talented young athletes, as they proudly represent their club on the national stage, or in joining our team that is focused on helping every swimmer to become the best that they can be, please contact ltswsmsc@hotmail.co.uk or headcoach@weston-super-mare-swimming-club.co.uk