Masters triumphant at home and abroad
For the third year in succession our Masters team travelled to Germany to take part in the 39th Forde International Masters event hosted by Flensburger Schwimmklub. We may have been the sole UK club taking part but we had plenty of competition from the 21 German and 11 Danish clubs. There were also a number of top European Masters swimmers amongst the participants, including 66 year old Klaus Dockhorn who had been a member of the German Olympic team at the 1972 Games in Munich where he competed in the 400m and 1500m Freestyle.
Our Chairman, Jon Ward, joined the team as one of the official Judges and was impressed by the efficiency of the event and the friendly hospitality afforded by the Flensburg club.
The high standard of competition brought out some great performances from the team with a number of personal best times, 27 individual top three age band placings and 3 relay age band placings as follows:
| AGE BAND WINNERS – WOMEN | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Carole JEPSON [35-39] | 3 |
|
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| Jess THORPE [25-29] | 2 | 1 |
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| Elaine FITCHIE [60-64] | 1 | 2 |
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| Debbie TAYLOR [40-44] | 1 |
| 1 |
| AGE BAND WINNERS – MEN | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Lee WILLIAMS [45-49] | 3 |
|
|
| Stuart VENTHAM [30-34] | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Grant THOMPSON [25-29] | 1 | 1 |
|
| Matt HOUGHTON [25-29] | 1 | 1 |
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| Chris HAMER[45-49] | 1 | 1 |
|
| Matt BURROWS [40-44] |
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| 3 |
The star performers of the meet though were once again Jess Thorpe, Grant Thompson and Carole Jepson, each swimming times which saw them secure FINA podiums. Jess took a 1st and a 2nd in the 50m and 100m Backstroke respectively, being narrowly pipped on FINA points in the 100m event by former German short course champion and Flensburger swimmer, Felicitas Hornschuh. Grant took a FINA 3rd in the 50m Breaststroke and 50m Freestyle in an age band that saw a really high standard of competition. Having taken 1st place in the 50m & 100m Breaststroke events in her age band in 2019 Carole decided to test herself in the longer 200m event and didn’t disappoint – not only did she win her age band but she took an overall FINA 3rd place.
The team’s FINA winning relay team was Jess Thorpe, Carole Jepson, Grant Thompson, and Matthew Houghton who took second place in the Mixed 4 x 50m Individual Medley Relay (120+ band). The ladies (Carole Jepson, Debbie Taylor, Elaine Fitchie and Jess Thorpe) also finished 3rd in the 160+ 4 x 50m Freestyle relay with the men (Matt Houghton, Matt Burrows, Grant Thompson and Chris Hamer) taking 2nd in the 120+ 4 x 50m Freestyle relay.
It has to be said though that the race of the meet for the team was the Mens’ 100m Breaststroke which saw team mates Gavin Simpson and Michael Stott compete in the same heat in adjacent lanes. Their focus was not the podium or the rest of the opposition – they just wanted to beat one another! With their friendly rivalry it was an exciting race cheered on by the rest of the team on the poolside. Gavin took the lead on the first 50m but Michael came back strong on the second 50m to take the win.
As part of our host’s tradition they once again finished the event with a fun race which involved six swimmers forming a relay. Each swimmer has to swim 25m carrying an open umbrella in one hand, then climbing out to drink a glass of beer before diving back in with their umbrella to swim the next 25m to handover to their team mate. Despite the fun some clubs took the event very seriously and even trained specifically for the race! The team coerced Paul Ascroft into taking part, enabling the club to enter two teams. With our own Union Flag umbrella to add to the fun the teams had a great time and came out appreciating just how difficult it was to swim with one arm then try to drink whilst gasping for air! So next time Paul tells you to kick your legs harder he knows exactly what he’s asking and how it feels!
We were treated to great hospitality throughout the weekend by the Flensburg club with whom we have developed a close friendship and are looking forward to hosting an event in this country for them some time soon.
Take a quick look at some of the highlights here
Meanwhile back in the UK, Pam Lane was taking part in the NW Regional Masters event in Blackpool. She secured a short course PB in her 100m Freestyle to finish 4th and took silver medals in both the 50m and 100m Backstroke events. Her times have put her in a good position for the other events she has planned for this year. To top her week-end off though she was also taking part in a Badminton event at Edge Hill on Sunday and was lucky enough to meet the one and only Mark Foster.
