Elizabeth the Fourth

Event: City of Sheffield No Frills Level 1 Open Meet Venue: Ponds Forge Date: 28th to 30th May 2010

Elizabeth Beckett added a fourth national qualifying time (NQT) to her tally in the 200m individual medley at the City of Sheffield No Frills Open Meet last weekend.  The swim also lowered the club record as did her efforts in the 400m individual medley, the 200m breaststroke and the 50m split in the 100m event.  Impressively all four swims were within national qualifying times.

Beckett was part of a squad of eight Dolphin swimmers who attended the three day meet at Ponds Forge, Sheffield which opened with the arduous 1,500m freestyle.  Alex Chantler-Mayne got the ball rolling for Dolphin in the first heat of the event and despite a brave effort in the early stages managing to stay alongside the race leaders, the 12 year old could not match their pace in the second half and fell short of his target first ever national mark by just eight seconds.  James Clark also swam the event and despite an evenly paced swim also fell just short of his national mark although had the consolation of setting a new club record.  There were mixed fortunes elsewhere for Clark with below par medley swims but much better efforts in the two breaststroke events with best time improvements in both.

Liam Herbert was looking for his third NQT of the season and undeterred by disappointing swims in the 200m individual medley and 100m freestyle, pulled out all the stops in the 100m butterfly to dip just under the national mark.  Sam Berry was in form on her favoured butterfly, converting her existing short course NQTs to long course in both distances and falling just short on the 200m freestyle.

BAGCATs Matthew Sambrook, Victoria Tainty and Abbie Hawkins were all looking for those few percentage point drops in their times that would earn them the right to return to Sheffield in July.  However, despite an excellent attitude in the pool throughout the weekend and some good personal best swims, none hit the required mark and they will now need to maintain their focus in training in the lead up to their forthcoming South West Regional Championships in June that will be their final long course qualifying opportunity.

Dolphin medal winners over the weekend were Herbert (silver; 200m backstroke), Tainty (silver; 200m butterfly), Beckett (2 bronze; 200m breaststroke and 400m individual medley) and Hawkins (2 bronze; 100m backstroke and 200m backstroke).

The level 1 meet attracted many of the country’s top ranked youth and age group swimmers, and for those returning in the summer, this was an excellent opportunity to race amongst a quality field in the national competition pool.  For those who will not qualify, they will have at least have had a taste of what awaits Britain’s best; an experience that will surely help provide them with the necessary competitive edge to eventually make the grade.

Full results are available on the Competition Page.