By invitation only!
Following on from the excitement of the British Swimming Championships in July we moved swiftly onto the Swim England National Summer Meet at the beginning of August.
Entry is by invitation only – dependant on rankings and this year Leyland Barracudas had three swimmers invited to compete:
Amelie Elliott – 16 year old 200 metre breaststroke
Tom Arkwright – 17 year old 50 metre backstroke
Hannah Morris – 15 year old 50 metre backstroke, 100 metre backstroke and 50 metre butterfly
The competition was held at Ponds Forge International Swimming pool in Sheffield and was spread over 5 days. First up to swim on day 2 of the competition was Amelie. Faced with a 7.30am warm up slot we drove her to Sheffield the night before staying within walking distance of the pool. While Amelie warmed up – and I sat nervously in the spectator area – her sisters enjoyed their cooked breakfast before leisurely walking across to the pool to watch the heats.
For all three of our Leyland swimmers the heats were a nervous proposition. Amelie had gone into the competition as the second fastest 16-year-old, but the times were all so tight that it was definitely a case of keeping your fingers crossed and seeing what happened on the day. Swimming in the last heat she set off at a steady pace, but it wasn’t until the last 50 that she really came to life! Coach Gillian has probably memorised the splits but for us watching – and with sister Poppy screaming encouragement – we just knew that her last 50 was quick! She won her heat and went through to the final third fastest.
Having swum so early in the day it was a long wait till the finals which started at 5pm. While Amelie returned to the hotel to rest (and watch Top Gear!) the female Elliott support crew went shopping in Sheffield whilst her dad drove over the Pennines to arrive in time to watch the finals. After a chaotic warm up – which Amelie described as scary – the finals began, and Amelie was delighted to be supported on poolside not only by Gillian but also by Hannah – who had also arrived in time to watch.
As race time approached Amelie headed off to the call room only to be seen back up on the balcony minutes later. She had obviously forgotten something – but what?? Gillian could be seen in a blind panic emptying the contents of Amelie’s bag onto the floor and Hannah was running towards the exit before ‘something’ was found, and Amelie was seen running back to the call room. Later it was revealed that when she got into the call room to line up for her race, she couldn’t find her accreditation pass. No pass = No swim so no wonder they were panicking!!!
With more than one heart rate raised significantly by the missing accreditation pass it was time to race. Seeing Amelie relax and smile up at Gillian from the blocks before the race was a good sign. From the start she stayed with the leaders and when she was still in contention going into her final turn even Gillian was on her feet. A blistering last 50 metres and a gold medal in a time of 2.42.23 – her second pb of the day – led to the first of a few tears to be shed over the course of the following few days!
With Amelie’s swimming completed it was time to hand over to Tom and Hannah. Another early start saw Gillian, Tom and Hannah arrive bright and early for the 50 metre backstroke heats. 50 metre races are quick, exciting, and SO close!!
Tom was first to swim. His entry time of 28.58 put him in heat 6 out of 8 heats. He had a good swim just outside his pb but was not quite quick enough to make it through to the finals.
Next up was Hannah with an entry time of 32.07 putting her in lane 0 in heat 6. Hannah went out strong swimming 31.29 and securing a place in the final that evening.
With the event live streamed on You Tube most of Leyland Barracudas watched from home with excitement as Hannah walked out to the blocks for the final.
Anyone who knows Hannah (or Amelie) will know that they get understandably nervous and are not known for smiling on the blocks!!! To see Hannah also smile up at Gillian was all the confirmation that we needed to know that this would end well – and it must have been a huge relief to Hannah’s dad who has sat through some traumatic races in the past! Watched on by her dad and sister Erin, Hannah had a great start and swam a brilliant race to finish in the silver medal position with another pb (31.21 seconds).
Another day and another race! On day four of the competition Hannah was back again to compete in the 100 metre backstroke and after several weeks of additional morning training sessions chasing Pia Murray up and down the pool things were looking good. Hannah swam 1.08.60 in the heats (another pb) and lined up 3rd fastest in the finals. Having messaged Amelie to say that she was nervous about the final she certainly didn’t look it and swam an absolutely brilliant race to win gold in the 15 year old age group in a fantastic time of 1.06.57. Two golds and one silver for Leyland Barracudas in the space of three days and for anyone watching the live stream it was great to hear the commentator announcing our Leyland Barracudas swimmers and giving a mention to coach Gillian.
The final day of the championships saw Hannah swim her last race – the 50-metre butterfly. In the heats she swam 30.18 just outside her pb to get into the final in 8th position. In the finals she went even faster swimming 29.71 and finishing seventh. What an amazing end to the 2021/22 season.
Well done to Amelie, Tom and Hannah for swimming as well as they did and to Gillian for coaching them to success – one proud coach I’m sure!!