Maxwell swimmers on form at 2016 County Championships

Following an extremely successful 2015 County Championships, Maxwell Swimming club made their intention to move up the leaderboard known during the distance elements of the 2016 champs.
Billy MartinBilly Martin
Billy Martin

The first Sunday of the Championships saw Maxwell out in force for the 800m and 1500m freestyle events, where the club’s girls made up a whopping 24 per cent of the overall entries for the 800m.

With tough categories awarding only the top three in each event for those 16 and under and the overall top three, many of Maxwell’s swimmers were too young to make an impact on the standings.

However, the high number of Maxwell swimmers accepted for the event and the development shown on the day shows a very promising future for all, especially as for many it was only their second ever time completing the event.

Billy Martin, fresh from a stellar performance in the 1500m freestyle at the ASA National Winter Meet in December, produced another solid swim to win the Junior (16/Under) Championship Trophy.

On the second Sunday of the Championships, there were even more Maxwell swimmers involved, with many, especially at the younger end of the club, showing great progress in their swimming technique, race craft and turn ability.

Ruth Bridgman took overall silver in the 400m individual medley, while Billy was again on form to win the Junior Championship Trophy in the 400m IM before finishing second in the 400m freestyle.

Maxwell swimmers also claimed individual age group medals across the races, with Merissa Booth winning the 11Yr 400m freestyle, Imogen Walton coming second in the 12Yr 400m freestyle and Gracie Hudson and Sean Richards placing third in the 400m freestyle and 400m IM respectively.

Seventeen Maxwell swimmers finished in the top eight for the 400m events – some in both freestyle and IM, meaning Maxwell had 21 top eight finishes overall.

Over the two weekends, Maxwell swimmers were also involved in the age group relay events.

The girls’ 11/12 freestyle A team, and boys’ 13/14 medley and freestyle A teams claimed second place, while the girls’ 13/14 freestyle A team claimed joint third place.

Top eight finishes were also achieved by Maxwell’s girls’ 13/14 medley A team, the boys’ 11/12 freestyle and medley A teams, and the boys’ 13/14 medley B team.

With such a fantastic start to the 2016 Championships, Maxwell’s head coach is looking forward to the main weekends of competition coming up in February.