Jepson and Fitchie lead the way
Following an on/off training program over the last 18 months 7 members of the masters squad competed at the English national short course championships in Sheffield. 3 days of high level competition was expected from over 1000 masters swimmers eager to get back into the pool after the long hiatus.
On Day 1 Leyland were represented by Morgan Gaskell-French, Elaine Fitchie, Lee Williams, Carole Jepson and Chris Hamer.
Leading us off was an impressive Morgan Gaskell-French in the 100 Freestyle. In a tough age group 18-24 Morgan battled well for a 1:07. Next up was President Elaine Fitchie who swam a fantastic 50mtrs Back to get 5th place, just one tenth off a podium position. Lee Williams followed on from Elaine and finished a very creditable 9th overall.
In the evening session the Breaststrokers turned up and Carole Jepson raced to an impressive 5th place beating her entry time. The final swim belonged to Chris Hamer, who, after 2 years of injury problems was back in the pool in style. Chris swam a 34.7 which brought him home in 13th place.
Day 2 and the morning session brought the big guns of Grant Thomson and Matt Houghton out for the 50 mtrs Freestyle and Lee Williams for the 100 IM. The 50 Freestyle being the blue ribbon event attracted over 300 competitors and competition was tough! 4 British age group records were broken and to give you an idea of the times, 80 year old Neil Mackinnon swam 32.74! Grant managed 8th in his age group with Matt 34th. In the 100 IM Lee Williams finished in a strong 12th position.
In the afternoon session the Breaststrokers entered the pool (minus Chris Hamer who was resting a pulled groin). Carole Jepson stormed the 100 Breaststroke to secure a fantastic 3rd place in 1:20.76. Our first podium was secured and chief coach Gill Rankin was over the moon and could be seen doing a little jig on poolside back in Leyland.
Day 3 and after a treacherous journey over the Pennines the trio of Morgan, Elaine and Lee closed out the Barracudas swims for the championships. Both Morgan (33.07) and Lee (31.20) swam well in the 50 Butterfly. The star of the show was Elaine Fitchie who became the second Leyland swimmer to climb on the podium, a fantastic 50 Butterfly secured a well deserved third place. The last swim of the championships belonged to Morgan who achieved a brilliant 6th place in the 800m Freestyle.