09 Dec 2019

Five club records fell as Deepings Swimming Club won a remarkable 97 medals at the Boston Open Meet last weekend.

The competition, held at the Meres Leisure Centre in Grantham, was the last opportunity for swimmers to achieve qualifying times for next year’s Lincolnshire County Championships. Over two days of racing, Deepings put together a series of outstanding performances to win medals in every event and distance, bagging a multitude of county times in the process.

In total, the team won 29 gold, 28 silver and 40 bronze medals, across all age groups.

Lorna McGill was in sensational form, breaking all three Deepings breaststroke club records for 16yrs girls as she dominated the discipline. In the 100m breaststroke, she swam 1.16.25 to shatter the old mark by three seconds – a record that had existed for 11 years.

She broke her own club record set just four weeks earlier in the 200m breaststroke, with a new best of 2.41.43, to win another gold, and completed the hat-trick in the 50m event with her third gold in a new record of 35.89 – the first time a 16-year-old Deepings Swimming Club girl has swum under 36 seconds.

Beth Eagle-Brown etched her name once again into the Deepings history books with a club record in the final girls’ event of the weekend, the 200m freestyle. She took half a second off the old mark, winning gold in a time of 2.08.41.

Beth also claimed a hat-trick of butterfly golds in the 15/O age group and won the 100IM, as well as silver in the 100m backstroke and two bronze in the 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke, setting the perfect springboard for the Scottish national short course championships next month.

Completing the record-breaking weekend was 12-year-old Lilly Tappern, who shaved three-tenths off the club’s six-year-old 100m butterfly record, swimming 1.11.44. It was one of two golds for Lilly over the weekend after victory in the 200m butterfly, with a pair of freestyle silvers (100m and 200m) and bronze in the 200IM and 100m breaststroke.

Holly Roffe claimed the biggest haul of gold medals at the meet after swimming personal bests across three disciplines, plus an individual medley. She doubled up in the 50m and 100m butterfly and repeated the feat in the 50m and 100m freestyle, adding gold in the 100m breaststroke and 100IM to finish with six. Holly also took silver in the 50m breaststroke and bronze in the 50m backstroke.

Deepings’ youngest gold medallist of the weekend was Maya Sangiorgio, and they came in the longest distances. An excellent race in the 400m freestyle saw the 10-year-old dynamo take the gold medal, and she topped the podium again in one of the toughest events, the 200m butterfly. Maya added three silvers in the 50m and 100m freestyle and the 50m butterfly.

The girls’ squad took another six golds. Backstroke sprinter Holly Leggott, who will be joining Beth Eagle-Brown at next month’s Scottish champs, won the 50m and 100m races in the 15/O age group, adding her third gold in the 50m freestyle.

Grace Edwards took a pair of golds in the 11yrs 200IM and 50m backstroke, and Jessica O’Herlihy won the 13yrs 400m freestyle, as well as five silvers and five bronze medals.

Deepings had a smaller squad of boys at the open meet, but they added a collection of their own medals, led by Jake Jungmann with a trio of golds in the 15/O 100m and 200m backstroke, and 100m freestyle. Jake also won silver in the 200m breaststroke and 100m butterfly.

Several big personal bests swept 14-year-old Christian Rollinson to first place in the 50m and 100m butterfly, with silver in the 200m backstroke, 100IM and 50m breaststroke plus bronze in the 50m and 100m freestyle.

Eleven other swimmers added silver and bronze medals to the final tally, including: Freya Chiva, Millie Herrick, Hannah Matthews, Bronte Claridge, Amy Tappern, Emma Wilde, Beth Wilde, Jacob Briers, Harry Newman, Ryan Weise and Harry Cardell.

Lynn Chapman, Deepings head coach, was thrilled by the speed her swimmers showed over the two days.

“It was a meet for strong competition, good skills and hard swimming rather than personal bests but we had some exceptional swims, some of which were from swimmers who didn’t medal, including a great first-time 200m fly swim by Lauren Saunderson,” she said. “I’m delighted with how well everyone competed and the success we enjoyed.”

BOSTON RESULTS IN FULL

10yrs age group

• Maya Sangiorgio: gold – 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly; silver – 50m and 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly

11yrs age group

• Holly Roffe: gold – 50m and 100m butterfly, 50m and 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 100IM; silver – 50m breaststroke; bronze - 50m backstroke
• Grace Edwards: gold – 200IM, 50m backstroke; bronze - 100m butterfly, 100m and 200m backstroke
• Freya Chiva: silver - 50m freestyle
• Jacob Briers: bronze – 100m and 200m breaststroke

12yrs age group

• Lilly Tappern: gold - 100m and 200m butterfly; silver – 100m and 200m freestyle; bronze - 200IM, 100m breaststroke
• Millie Herrick: bronze - 100IM

13yrs age group

• Jessica O’Herlihy: gold - 400m freestyle; silver – 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, 200m backstroke, 100IM; bronze – 50m and 100m backstroke, 200IM, 50m butterfly, 50m breaststroke
• Harry Newman: bronze – 50m and 200m backstroke, 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 100IM, 50m breaststroke
• Ryan Weise: bronze – 50m freestyle, 100m backstroke

14yrs age group

• Christian Rollinson: gold – 50m and 100m butterfly; silver – 200m backstroke, 100IM, 50m breaststroke; bronze – 50m and 100m freestyle

15/O age group

• Beth Eagle-Brown: gold - 200m freestyle, 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, 100IM; silver - 100m backstroke; bronze - 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke
• Holly Leggott: gold - 50m freestyle, 50m and 100m backstroke; silver - 200m backstroke, 100m freestyle; bronze - 100m butterfly, 200IM
• Hannah Matthews: bronze – 100m and 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly
• Amy Tappern: silver - 100IM and 200IM, 50m backstroke; bronze – 100m and 200m backstroke, 200m breaststroke
• Lorna McGill: gold – 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke
• Bronte Claridge: silver - 200m breaststroke; bronze – 50m and 100m breaststroke
• Emma Wilde: silver – 50m and 100m breaststroke, 200m butterfly; bronze - 50m butterfly
• Beth Wilde: bronze - 100IM
• Jake Jungmann: gold – 100m and 200m backstroke, 100m freestyle; silver - 200m breaststroke, 100m butterfly
• Harry Cardell: silver – 200m butterfly; bronze - 100m backstroke

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