Scarborough Winter Open

Post date: Dec 15, 2019 11:27:22 PM

Team Jorvik swimmers embarked on a 3-day festival of swimming in Scarborough this weekend and the results of their hard work in training this term has been clearly evidenced by the number of medals won by everyone.

On Friday evening, Ellie (gold), Robyn (bronze), Eleanor (gold) and Aidan (gold) started Team Jorvik’s medal count competing in the 1500 metres. All were swimming this event for the first time and ultimately finishing in times quicker than I can run! Ellie and Eleanor achieved Yorkshire qualifying times for their efforts.

The gala started in earnest on Saturday morning. Aidan (rested after an overnight stay in luxurious accommodation) scored silver in the 400m IM and Alex won gold in the 200m freestyle, carving over 2 seconds off his personal best. After a quick turnaround Alex (silver) was back in the pool competing in the 100m breaststroke, followed by Cormac (silver) and Aidan (gold). Not to be outdone Jess G also won gold with a PB swim. Taking on what can only be described as a muscle-sapping 200m butterfly was Ben P, making the event seem easy as he strolled away with gold. Who gave him the spinach? Then Imogen performed admirably in the 200m freestyle achieving a bronze medal in her first effort at this event. The boys stormed back into action in the 100m IM – Alex securing silver, Cormac achieving a PB which also earned him silver, followed by Ben P taking gold.  After a breather Jess resumed her day with the 100m butterfly - securing Team Jorvik’s first speeding ticket of the meet by smashing her PB by a mammoth 12 seconds! Ellie won silver with a great 5 second PB. Following suit for the boys was Alex, achieving a silver medal and taking a further second off his PB. Not to be outdone, Ben P led from the outset stroking off with gold, over a second off his PB and a new NER qualifying time.

Saturday afternoon opened with the girls’ 200m IM – an energy-sapping event for most. Taking on the challenge Jess took bronze with another amazing PB and Imogen secured her first time in the event. Scarlett made a huge 10 second improvement on her best time and Olivia, a new recruit in her first gala for Team Jorvik, achieved bronze with a PB.  The boys were back in the pool for the 50m Freestyle and made an instant splash: Alex, Ben B, Cormac and Aidan all securing silver medals. The girls followed suit: Olivia claiming a superb gold; Scarlett achieving our 2nd speeding ticket of the meet and Jess a worthy 4th place.  Brimming with confidence Alex achieved gold in the 200m breaststroke smashing his previous PB by 15 seconds. He was swiftly followed by Ben B nailing a silver in his first effort at this event. Experienced performers Cormac and Ben P won bronze medals but it was Aidan’s gold medal that stood out. The final event on Saturday afternoon was the girls’ 200m backstroke. Ellie achieved silver in her race before Oliva Mence finished off what had been a great day’s performance with a gold and new personal best.

Day 3 of this mammoth event started with the girls 400m freestyle – a perfect way to shake off the cobwebs. Robyn took on the mantle and achieved a brilliant silver medal, knocking off nearly 22 seconds from her previous PB. Cormac (gold), Aidan (bronze) and Ben P, this time just out of the medals, all achieved fabulous PB’s. The only girl to participate in the 200m breaststroke, Scarlett, continued the medal rush by taking silver and smashing her former PB by over 7 seconds. The girls’ 100m freestyle saw both Heidi and Libby enter the pool for their first races of the meet. In a closely fought race Heidi marched away with gold and superb new PB and Libby silver. This was subsequently followed by Olivia snatching gold and a new PB. The morning session was now in full flow and the boys’ 100m freestyle saw the youngest member of the team step into action: Joe F achieved a fabulous gold medal along with a new PB, snipping off over 4 seconds from his previous time. Ben B continued his great form by taking another gold and almost 5 seconds off his time, whilst Cormac and Aidan both took silver. A special mention here to Aiden S who secured our 3rd speeding ticket of the event, smashing his PB by just under 13 seconds. The 50m backstroke is a fast and furious event and contested by Libby (bronze) and Robyn, both of whom also achieved new PB’s. Olivia then followed up with a brilliant gold just missing out on her own best time. With the challenge laid down, Joe (bronze), Aiden S (silver), Ben B (silver) and Ben P (bronze) stepped up to the plate, the younger swimmers all achieving new PBs. With lunch on their minds the girls’ 100 IM was next up. Gold medals were eaten up by Heidi and Olivia, with Libby finishing 4th with a brilliant new PB. A special mention here to Scarlett who not only smashed through her previous best time but claimed our 4th speeding ticket of the competition.

The final session of this marathon event started with the boys’ 100m backstroke. Straight back in the pool were Aiden S and Ben B, both claiming gold and Ben achieving a 9 second PB. The girls swiftly followed with Heidi and Olivia continuing their gold winning ways and Robyn achieving bronze. Not to be ignored was Libby who was rewarded with a fine swim and our 5th speeding ticket. Next up was the 50m breaststroke. Golds were achieved by both Aidan and Cormac, with Ben B grabbing a further bronze and another PB. The girls followed: Libby (bronze) and Olivia (gold) with a PB swim. If the boys weren’t tired after a long day racing they would be shortly with the 200 IM to come. Cormac took a brilliant silver and smashed the 3-minute barrier. Meanwhile Aidan grabbed a bronze in a tightly fought race that anyone could have won in the last 50 metres. The final event of the day was the 50 metre butterfly – a tough race to finish off with. The girls went first with Libby grabbing silver and Heidi bronze. The day was finished off with Aiden S launching himself across the line to win a brilliant bronze.

It has been a brilliant event with medals and PBs galore. Members of Team Jorvik should be proud of themselves as we look forward to the next gala in January. Special mention to Callum for offering guidance all weekend to all our swimmers and to Team Manager Fiona. And without the input of the whole superb coaching team our swimmers wouldn’t be progressing as well as they are.

Report by Andrew Mence