All eight of our swimmers were on personal best form for the last weekend of the 2024 East Region Long Course Championships, making many finals as four Club age group records were broken including one that had been set over twenty years ago.
Tommy Fenwick was our only medal winner, collecting a silver and bronze medal in the 13 years’ 100m and 200m Backstroke, breaking the Club’s age group record for 12 year olds in both events. (Team Luton’s Club records are with reference to a person’s age on the date of their swims). Missing the final of his 100m Freestyle by just 0.03 seconds, Tommy finished 6th in his 400m Individual Medley.
George Saunders smashed his previous personal best (“‘pb”)time twice by over two seconds in both the heats and final of his 14 years’ 100m Backstroke where he finished 6th. He recorded a further pb of over five seconds to claim 6th spot in his 400m Freestyle whilst also finishing 7th in the final of his 200m Backstroke.
Lexie Sandiford finished 4th in the final of her 13 years’ 200m Backstroke but had the consolation of beating the Club’s age group record. She just missed the Club record in her 100m Backstroke final where she finished 6th, as she did in her 50m Freestyle final. Lexie was also 7th and 9th in her 50m and 200m Butterfly.
Alice Buckingham swam pb times in three of her four events in the 11/12 year girls’ events, namely 200m Backstroke, 400m Freestyle and 400m IM. She was placed 6th in both 400m events.
Emily Calvert swam a pb time of 2:38.61 in the heats of her 14 years’ 200m Backstroke to qualify in 8th place for the final. That time improved the Club’s record for 13 year old’s that had stood since 2003. A further pb came with Emily’s 12th place in the 100m Backstroke heats, breaking the Club’s age group record for 13 year olds. In the same 14 years age group’s 50m Butterfly final, Amerie Njawaya finished 7th with a pb, being placed 12th in the heats of both her 50m and 100m Freestyle.
Violet Rhodes lowered her pb for the 50m Butterfly in both the heats and final of the 12 year girls’ event, where she finished 6th, having been placed 38th in her 50m Freestyle heats. Olivia Piaskowska was placed 21st in those heats, a mere 0.03 seconds outside her pb.