55 medals as Deepings impresses at Rob Welbourn swimming meet
12 Oct 2021
Deepings Swimming Club hosted its annual Rob Welbourn Open Meet welcoming competitors from Boston, Lincoln Trident, Grantham and South Lincs.
The meet, named after Paralympic double gold medallist and former Deepings swimmer Rob Welbourn, took place at Grantham Leisure Centre after the closure of Deepings Leisure Centre left the club without a permanent home and severely limited training time.
But the lack of pool time didn’t stop the squad of 40 swimmers from having an outstanding competition, claiming 55 medals and numerous personal bests (PBs). Nineteen Deepings swimmers took home medals, as the club won six golds, 22 silvers and 27 bronzes.
Standout gold medal winning swims came from Harry Cardell, Isabella Reynolds, Holly Leggott and Jacob Briers.
In the 15/over age group, Harry was on fire with a host of PBs, as he took a brace of golds in the 200m butterfly and 100m backstroke. Harry added a pair of silvers in the 50m and 100m freestyle plus bronze in the 50m butterfly and 200m individual medley (IM).
Isabella swam away with the biggest medal haul from the weekend with 10 in the 11/12yrs age group. She displayed exciting versatility by achieving top three finishes in all strokes and distances.
Gold came in the 200m breaststroke, while Isabella added silver in the 200m freestyle, 100IM, 200IM, 50m breaststroke and 50m butterfly, and bronze in the 50m and 100m backstroke and 50m and 100m freestyle.
Jacob Briers, competing in the 13/14yrs category, also claimed a 200m breaststroke gold with an excellent sub-three-minute swim, going 2:59.97. He also won silver in the 200m butterfly and 50m breaststroke plus bronze in the 100m butterfly and 100m breaststroke.
Completing the golden medal haul was Holly, who went a perfect two-for-two in the 15/over age group, winning the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke – her only races of the meet.
Medals were won across all age groups and in all strokes, for both the boys and girls teams.
For the boys, nine-year-old Ashton Hunter, the youngest member of the squad, won a hat-trick of bronzes in the 200m freestyle and 100m and 200m backstroke in the 9/10yrs age group. Thomas Burdock, also in the 9/10yrs age group, took bronze in the 200m breaststroke.
In the 11/12yrs category, William Burdock won a 200m backstroke silver, Jack Bell claimed a 100m backstroke bronze, and Oliver Shepherd touched home second in the 100IM and third in the 50m and 200m freestyle.
Adding further to the medal tally in the 15/over age group were Bailey Jackson-Chilvers, who won five bronzes in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, and 50m and 100m breaststroke, Harry Newman with silver in the 200m backstroke and Marcus Cook who claimed silver in a highly competitive 50m butterfly and bronze in the 50m freestyle.
The girls were equally as impressive.
Chloe Bellis won a 200m breaststroke bronze in the 9/10yrs age group, while Eleanor Twinley took bronze in the 100m butterfly 11/12yrs age group.
Enjoying a breakout meet was Eydee Chilvers. Competing in the 11/12yrs, Eydee showed composure and excellent skills to win silver in the freestyle 50m and 100m, and backstroke 50m and 100m races, setting huge new PBs in each.
Personal bests and medals were also in abundant supply in the girls 13/14yrs age group. Sadie Hunter set new times in the 200m butterfly, taking silver, and 200m backstroke, winning bronze.
Meanwhile, Millie Herrick’s superb swim in the 50m freestyle, where she ducked under 30 seconds for the first time (29.19), saw her claim one of four silver medals. The others came in the 100m freestyle, 100IM and 200IM. Millie also won bronze in the 200m freestyle.
Completing the medallists in the 15/over age group were Penny Baxter, who took bronze in the 100m breaststroke, and Sophie Baskeyfield, with bronze in the 100m freestyle.
Deepings Swimming Club head coach Lynn Chapman was overjoyed with the performances, which included multiple personal bests.
“Although we have had limited swimming time for the past three months, we have made the most of the pool time we have had and it’s really paid dividends at this meet,” she said. “Our younger swimmers are making huge progress, while the senior members of the squad are continuing to refine and improve their skills.
“Deepings Swimming Club has a lot to look forward to with the wealth of talent we have across our squads.”