Sedgefield 75 swimming club headed to Stanley last weekend for a festive gala hosted by Derwentside swimming club titled the Christmas Cracker Meet.
Seven swimmers competed for medals and chocolate as Derwentside continued their tradition of awarding a selection box to the winner of every heat. It proved a great motivation as the swimmers returned 26 personal bests out of 36 swims including some staggering performances.
Evie Weston swam five races setting two PB’s including more than seventeen seconds taken from her 200 backstroke best. She also came away with gold in 100m butterfly and bronze in that 200m backstroke.
Zoe Hodgson came home with a lot of chocolate and a superb eight out of eight PB’s which included over six seconds off her 100m breaststroke best and almost sixteen seconds from her 200m individual medley best which was only set in June this year.
Charlotte Lee swam two breaststroke events and 50m free and took silver in 200m breaststroke.
Ellis Dickinson found a new level as he swam six races in six big PB’s, most impressive being seventeen seconds in 100m freestyle, twenty-three seconds in 50m butterfly and more than twenty-eight seconds in 100m breaststroke. In terms of magnitude of personal bests, one of the most astounding performances the club has seen.
Filip Wilczynski continued where he left off from Sheffield recently and won six out of six gold medals setting three new PB’s including six seconds off his 100m freestyle best and three from his 50m breaststroke.
Oliver Turnbull swam three new PB’s from five, those being 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle and 200m freestyle.
Charlie McEwan got three out of four PB’s in 50m backstroke and butterfly, and 100m freestyle.
On the same Saturday, 13-year-old Emma Price headed back to Sheffield to take part in her first English National swimming championships, competing as a junior against the country’s best sixteen-year-olds and younger. Emma had made the qualifying time for 400m freestyle at the recent regional championships at the same Ponds Forge International Swimming Centre in Sheffield.
The open (adult) championships ran concurrently and the swimmers mixed in the same heats seeded on qualifying times only. This meant that Emma was competing in the same event as international and Olympic swimmers including Abbie Wood, also swimming 400m freestyle, who had finished 4th at Tokyo 2020 in 200m individual medley this summer. A fantastic experience and it surely won’t be her last.
Sedgefield 75 are grateful to Great Aycliffe Town Council for a grant received from their COVID recovery fund to help overcome financial challenges placed on it by COVID and a significant increase in pool hire imposed by Durham County Council at the same time. In the longer term, we need more members to maintain this fantastic access to top quality coaching for Newton Aycliffe and the wider South Durham area. We offer coaching for children and adults at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Get in touch via our website www.sedgefield75.com or find us on Facebook.