Swimming - Ledbury secure nine for Midlands contest (From Ledbury Reporter)

Swimming - Ledbury secure nine for Midlands contest

11:30am Monday 25th June 2012 in Sport

LEDBURY continued a strong start to the season with nine swimmers qualifying for the Midlands Championships in Coventry.

They competed in 49 events against top regional opponents with club captain Lucy Stokes excelling in the youth 15-year plus category.

She made seven finals and brought home a much-prized silver and bronze for her first medals at the advanced level.

Dani Fitzgerald swam a strong butterfly sprint, a real test of skill and stamina, and Peter Crocombe put up a sterling performance in his breaststroke race despite only recently recovering from a broken arm.

They all contributed to the club finishing 12th overall in the competition.

The juniors competed a few weeks later in the age group championships with debuts for three 10-year-old girls in Charlotte Hall, Lauren Freestone and Lily Painter.

Hall finished in the top 20 for the age group after competing in nine events. Lucas Dewe impressed after gaining confidence on winning a bronze medal at the schools’ championships in Crawley the previous month.

Alex Middleton put in a good performance in three sprint races in the 14-year-old boys’ category.

Calypso Harvey gained a hardearned fourth place in the 800- metre freestyle after holding her own in six other events and finishing in the top 20 for 14-year-old girls.

The club improved on their overall ranking by 13 places from 2011, ending up ahead of many larger city clubs, including Worcester. Head coach Chris Treanor was delighted by the club’s overall performance.

He said: “The swimmers all put in a tremendous effort.

“They all swam personal bests and it showed that, through dedication to their training, a provincial club like Ledbury can compete on the larger stage. I am excited about the next 12 months.

“Our elite swimmers have a week of intensive training in Spain before we launch in to the winter qualifying season.”