Geeklog Site

Achieng Set To Go At The 2008 World Short Course Championships - TV's At The Ready!!

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:45:12 +0100

Manchester, England: Plymouth Leander’s Kenyan superstar Achieng Ajulu-Bushell is only 48 hours out of competing in the biggest meet of her life as she represents her nation at the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 at the Manchester Evening News Arena.

Achieng will be comforted in the fact that Amanda Booth, one of her major coaching influences at PL, has been named as the Head Coach of the Kenyan team.

Achieng is the only PL athlete other than Cassandra Patten (Indianapolis 2004) to ever compete at this meet. 800 of the world's best swimmers from over 130 nations will perform over 5 days in front of 8000 spectators at the MEN Arena in Manchester from the 9th to the 13th April.

Start sheets for the meet can be found here

Eurosport (Sky 410) is to televise every session live as follows:

9 April: 10am – Heats (Achieng in 50m Breaststroke)
9 April: 7pm – Day 1 Finals
10 April: 10am – Heats (Achieng in 100m Freestyle & 100m IM)
10 April: 7pm – Day 2 Finals
11 April: 10am – Heats (Achieng in 100m Breaststroke)
11 April: 7pm – Day 3 Finals
12 April: 9am – Heats (Achieng in 50m Freestyle)
12 April: 4.30pm – Day 4 Finals
13 April: 9am – Heats (Achieng in 200m Breaststroke)
13 April: 3pm - Day 5 Finals

The BBC are also set to cover much of the meet on both TV and Radio 5 and the schedule for this can be found here

We know that we can call on PL athletes and members to gather round their TV sets this week and wish on one of the world’s most exciting aquatic prospects; Achieng is only 14 years of age and competing at this level will no doubt provide her with exceptional experience in her challenge to compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games

The official web site for the meet can be found here

GB Championships Day 4 - Five British Records In Three Swims? Surely That's Not Possible!!

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:04:12 +0100

Sheffield, England: Day 4 of the British Championships and surely PL were to slow down. Erm, no. In fact three PL athletes were to break five British Age Records in three swims! How does that happen?

Well read on and see how Antony James, Grant Halsall and Sam Straughan were to manage such a feat…

Antony James’ talent as a sprint Butterfly specialist has never been in question. And, at 18 years of age, it was time to step up to the mark and deliver as a senior athlete on a senior stage. And boy did he do so.

In the heats of the 100m Butterfly, breaking the 18 years British and English Age Record for the 50m Butterfly with 24.62 in a 100m split indicated his intentions and his finishing time of 53.56 was nothing short of world class. Qualifying in fifth position for the ‘A’ final, Antony’s time is the seventh fastest all time swim from a Brit (including being faster than that of 2004 Olympic 200m medallist Stephen Parry) and is the fifth fastest time in the world this year from a male 18 years or under.

Antony may also have been inspired by Grant Halsall, who a couple of heats earlier had set about the British Age Records in the 14 years. The current holder? Yes, that’s right, Antony James. And Grant was to match the achievements of his team-mate, as he took both of Antony’s British Records at 50m (26.50) and then the 100m in a superlative 57.05. Grant’s statistics over the week are quite amazing. Three swims, four British Age Records, four Senior Isle of Man Records and four Junior Isle of Man Records.

So four British Records in two swims. Following this up with his second British Age Record of the meet was Sam Straughan, who was to go into the 400m IM the new British Record holder over 200m IM. Sam’s time of 4:37.77 was a good two seconds inside the former 400m mark set by his team mate David Gregory back in the summer of 2007. Sam was top hop out of this and deliver again in the 100m Butterfly, with a great personal best of 59.85.

The 200m Breaststroke was to see three of PL’s most promising young men take on the field, with Mark Conroy dropping his best time by two seconds to 2:24.48. Joe Parker was just outside of the 14 years British Age Record with a great 2:24.94, a huge improvement, whilst Fabian Whitbread finally got to actually chomp at the bit with another terrific best time of 2:27.70. Fabian was straight out and into the 400m IM, where he was to make another dramatic drop down to 4:40.73, with Dave Gregory also taking two seconds off his personal best, recording 4:37.67.

So, 9 British Age Records and still on 100% personal best strike rate after four days. There must be something in the water in sunny Plymouth.

GB Championships Day 3 - Podium For Emma and GB Records For Calum & Grant!!

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:55:00 +0100

Sheffield, England: Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, it then did. Day 3 at the British Long Course Championships saw Emma Wilkins take PL’s first medal at an Olympic Trials whilst Grant Halsall and Calum Jarvis decided to set about the British Record books in a big way.

You can't help but read more can you?

After her incredible feats in the 100m Freestyle, it was little surprise to see Emma Wilkins storm to a monstrous personal best time of 25.96 in the heats of the 50m Freestyle. The time made her one of only three active British female athletes with a sub 26 second swim to their name, and alongside British Record holder Francesca Halsall and former World Champion Katie Sexton, Emma found herself as third seed into the ‘A’ Final and a podium chance the following morning. Her time was only 0.53 outside of the Olympic qualification time set by Britain for the Beijing Olympics.

The following morning, Emma was to gain her podium spot with an improved 25.90 and a bronze medal. Emma will now attend the England Level 3 Camp in Cyprus next week before returning to Plymouth to prepare for the 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle and 400m Freestyle relay at both the World Youth Championships in Mexico and the Three Nations Tri-Meet in Canada.

Emma's performances at this stage in the season rank her as number 2 in the world for both the 50m Freestyle and 100m Freestyle for the age groups that are permitted to compete at the World Youth Championships (athletes born 1991 or earlier). Wow!

It was then time for the British, English and Welsh record books to take a bit of a hammering from PL’s male elite in the 200m Backstroke. The most staggering of these performances was that of Calum Jarvis, who swam an almost perfect race in the heats of the event to take the 15 years British Age Record down to an amazing 2:04.79 and re-write team-mate Adam John’s previous mark in this event from December 2007. Adam will retain the English record with Calum being Welsh, but Calum was also delighted to note that he set yet another Welsh Junior record in this event, formerly held by Marco Loughran from 2005. With Martyn Woodroffe watching over the meet, it is now hoped that Calum has done enough to earn himself a place on the Welsh team attending the Commonwealth Youth Games in India in October.

Calum was later to experience his first Senior National Final, with his heat performance taking him through to the ‘B’ Final the following morning. This was tough going, yet his time of 2:05.97 for sixth was his still massively inside his pre-meet best.

With the 14 years 100m British Age Record already secured earlier in the meet, Grant Halsall’s mature and calm approach to the 200m seemed well in advance of his years. Again it was a PL team-mate that was to see their British and English record taken as Grant trimmed David Gregory’s former 2007 mark to 2:08.14. Needless to say, Grant is breaking Isle of Man records every time he jumps into the pool at this meet and must be favourite to occupy one of the Isle of Man teams’ positions at the Commonwealth Youth Games in India later this year. Dave, as ever, was to respond with an outstanding improvement to 2:06.69 in the 200m Backstroke, with his favoured event, the 400m IM still to come. Four British Age Records from three PL athletes in three days – nice going boys!

And last but definitely not least, Bo Cameron was to ensure that after three whole days of competition, PL retained their 100% personal best strike rate as she sped to a terrific 27.65 in the 50m Freestyle, setting her up nicely for her favoured event, the 200m Freestyle on Day 6 of the meet. Are PL the top Junior and Youth team on display at this meet? You betcha!!

GB Championships Day 2 - Zoe Joins Emma On World Youth's Team!!

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:25:12 +0100

Sheffield, England: After a breathtaking start for PL athletes at the 2008 British Championships, Zoe Hester entered the fray in the 100m Backstroke to record a staggering personal best time of 1:03.22 to qualify for the ‘A’ Final and place herself as Britain’s number one Backstroker on the World Youth Championships in Mexico this July.

Go on, read it all.........!

With Emma Wilkins already on the World team, PL should be able to boast 50% of the British Medley relay come the summer when taking on the rest of the planet. Zoe becomes the third PL athlete to be linked to the World meet, with Achieng Ajulu-Bushell already selected to compete in Mexico for Kenya. However, this was not enough for Zoe, as the following morning she was to return for the ‘A’ Final and lower her time to 1:03.16, one of the few swimmers in attendance this week so far who has been able to do so. We tentatively await to see if Zoe is now also successful in being selected for the GB Senior team for the Tri Nations Meet in Canada during August.

As with Day 1, the second day of the meet proved to be a British Record breaking affair for PL athletes. Following in the footsteps of training partner Grant Halsall on Day 1, Sam Straughan was to pull a British and English 200m IM Age record very much out of the blue, his time of 2:11.32 was to re-set the 14 years mark set by Jonathan Quinn of Hatfield in 2005. Elsewhere in the 200m IM, it was another batch of lifetime bests, with Calum Jarvis moving on four seconds to 2:13.67 and David Gregory notching up a tremendous 2:08.70, another three second drop.

It was a similar success story in the 100m Breaststroke as Mark Conroy, Anthony O’Driscoll and Joe Parker continued to ensure the PL 100% personal best strike. Mark was to nip under 66 seconds for the first time with 1:05.80, whilst Anthony was also on great form to take his best time down to 1:06.53. Joe’s 1:09.01 was also a big shift, particularly with Joe and Anthony only having set best times at the Sheffield Premier Meet one week earlier.

GB Championships Day 1 - Emma Just Misses Out On Olympic Selection ... We Think!!

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:20:17 +0100

Sheffield, England: The first day of the British Championships saw Plymouth Leander’s band of elite athletes excel way beyond that of everyone’s hopes leading into the meet with sprint starlet Emma Wilkins narrowly missing out on automatic Olympic selection.

Surely you want to read on...

With the 7-day meet at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield not only acting as the British Olympic Trials for the Beijing Olympic Games this summer, the Championships also have a significant connotation for Britain’s top Junior and Youth athletes, with the meet also serving as the sole selection event for the:
- 2008 World Youth Championships (Mexico)
- 2008 European Junior Championships (Serbia)
- 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games (India)
- 2008 Tri-Nations Meet (Canada)

Emma’s performance in the heats of the 100m Freestyle was nothing short of scintillating. Swimming in an outside lane in a cyclically seeded heat, a simply staggering 55.92 qualified her fifth fastest into the ‘A’ Final, with the accumulative times of the top five athletes looking like they would fulfil the selection policy for all five swimmers to attend the Olympic Games in the 400m Freestyle relay. The swim makes Emma the 12th fastest Brit of all time in the 100m Freestyle.

With heats being completed on an evening and finals taking place the following morning, a tough ask is required of everyone to produce faster swims before lunch. Emma was to begin her challenge in the final as sprightly but was to slip to 56.67 at the final touch for sixth. The accumulative times mean that five athletes are likely to be taken to the Games but agonisingly for Emma, it is unlikely to be six.

However, it was certainly not doom and gloom. Emma’s swim places her as Britain’s number one female sprint Freestyle athlete at the World Youth Games in Monterrey, Mexico this July, a magnificent achievement for the 17 year old who has, as yet, no International experience to speak of at all. It would also seem that she is in the frame for selection to the Canadian Tri-Meet in Quebec, where the GB Senior team will face both France and Canada in a head to head affair.

Grant Halsall was also to make his mark at the meet with a tremendous British and English Age Group Record. Despite being one of the youngest competitors to qualify for the Championships, Grant was less than phased by the magnitude of the occasion, swimming supremely in the heats of the 100m Backstroke to record 59.27 and take the never-held 14 years British Age Record in this event.

PL’s story on Day 1 had begun with a superb 400m Freestyle performance from Calum Jarvis, taking some 5 seconds off his personal best time to record 4:07.95. This time was some two seconds inside the now former Welsh Junior Record held by Tom Haffield set in 2003, Calum's first record for his country. Calum was then to join team-mates David Gregory, Sam Straughan and Grant Halsall in a PB recording quartet in the 100m Backstroke, Calum’s time down to 59.22, Dave in at 59.89 and Sam dropping to 1:00.46. Bo Cameron was to ensure the PL 100% personal best statistics from Day 1 in the 100m Freestyle as she swam a most encouraging 59.50, with her favoured event, the 200m Freestyle to come on Day 6.

40 County Champions By The End Of Final Devon Meet!!

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:16:07 +0000

Tiverton, England: The final weekend of the 2008 Devon County Championships saw Plymouth Leander swimmers achieve new heights with no less than 40 individual athletes from our nationally acclaimed programme achieving County Champion status this year.

Sam Straughan was to take his number of Competition Best Times (CBT’s) to seven as he recorded three further marks over the last two days of competition at the Exe Valley Pool in Tiverton. In the 14 years events, Sam was to set new age records in the 200m IM (2:11.88), 50m Butterfly (26.85) and 200m Freestyle (1:58.37) before winning the 50m Freestyle as a welcome bonus.

Also setting three new CBT’s was young hopeful Meryl Attrill who was to claim her records in the 9 years 200m Freestyle (2:46.28), 200m Butterfly (3:27.65) and 200m IM (3:04.32). Cynfelyn Nancarrow-Lei was also to continue with his impressive record breaking form with 13 years CBT’s in the 200m IM (2:19.13) and 200m Freestyle (2:03.13).

The records continued to come thick and fast for PL, despite seven of their premier athletes competing for England in the WISE Home International on the same weekend. Jodi Le Resche was to claim the Championship title in the 50m Butterfly, setting a 17 years & over CBT of 28.82. Jodi was to later take the Championship title in the 50m Freestyle. Charlotte McRae’s time of 2:31.29 in the 12 years 200m Butterfly was a CBT, with Lottie also winning the 200m Freestyle and 200m IM in this age group.

The 50m Breaststroke proved to be a good event for the PL ladies, with Jess Olie reducing the 14 years CBT to 34.97 and Sammy Conroy reciprocating with 35.55 for a CBT in the 15 years, before taking the 200m IM title later into the meet. Alexander Simon’s 1:03.56 in the 13 years 100m Backstroke was a further CBT to take the number of County Competition Best Times set by PL athletes this season to 47.

The 14 years age group was to witness Tabitha Chivers ensuring a further three titles to her already weighty total, the 50m & 200m Butterfly, as well as the 200m IM golds coming her way. Fabian Whitbread was also to claim three further golds to his expansive collection, with the 15 years 200m IM, 200m Freestyle and 100m Backstroke titles well and truly secured. Also in on the hat-trick of gold medals was Chloe Davey, the youngster taking strong wins in the 10 years 200m Freestyle, 200m Butterfly and 200m IM.

With Bo Cameron taking a much deserved ‘skins’ title in the 50m Freestyle, as well as winning the 16 years & over 200m Freestyle, Heather Millar was also on hand to take a pair of victories in the 14 years 50m & 200m Freestyle. Emma Carter’s triumphs were to come courtesy of the 15 years 200m & 50m Butterfly. Single wins from Grant Halsall in the 14 years 100m Backstroke and Charlotte Foulds in the 16 years & over 200m IM were backed up by Elliott Cunningham in the 10 years 200m IM and team-mate Myles Pillage in the 10 years 200m Freestyle. Reece Dunn was to lift the 12 years 200m IM victory, whilst Anthony O’Driscoll made sure of his win in the 16 years & over 200m IM. Erin Attrill was on hand for the 13 years 200m Butterfly gold and Georgina Barrington similarly in the 15 years 50m Freestyle to round off the PL victories on the final weekend.

Silver medals were the order of the day for Dani Baker, Laura Selwood, Hannah Cunningham, Harry Ackland, Ryan Hart, Mitchell Adshead, Zoe Blackoe, Alex Pester, Rebekah James, Lucy Parker & Dan Jones, whilst bronze medals were secured by Holly Campbell, Reece Worth, Ali Maclean, Louis Nicholls, Joe Parker, Ainsley Morgan, Rebecca Boulden, Alex Pillage and Laura Hudson.

Gold Medal Summary
 PL won 64% of all of the gold medals presented in 2008
 The nearest Club to PL in gold medals won were Kelly College. They won 123 gold medals less than PL
 PL won 171 gold medals. The remainder of the Devon clubs (of which there were 17) won 94 medals between them
 PL’s 171 gold medals were won by 40 separate individual athletes from our programme

Medal Summary
 PL won 49% of all of the medals presented in 2008
 The nearest Club to PL in medals won were Kelly College. They won 236 medals less than PL
 PL won 354 medals. The remainder of the Devon clubs won 367 medals between them – 13 more than PL
 PL’s 354 medals were won by 63 separate individual athletes from our programme. Only 23 of our medal winning athletes did not win a gold

Records Summary
 1 PL Senior and 3 PL Junior short course records were broken across the meets
 4 Devon Championship times were set by PL athletes
 47 Devon Age Group Competition Best Times were set by PL athletes separate individual athletes from our programme

**2008 Devon County ASA Championships - Final Medal Table**
Position	Club	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1.	Plymouth Leander	171	96	87	354
2.	Kelly College	48	32	38	118
3.	Barnstaple	20	19	15	54
4.	Tiverton	12	3	0	15
5.	Exeter City	10	38	32	80
6.	Sid Vale	2	5	3	10
7.	Dinnaton	1	8	10	19
8.	Newton Abbot	1	5	6	12
9.	Dawlish	0	7	14	21
10.	Oddicombe	0	4	1	5
11.	Kingsbridge Kingfishers	0	5	9	14
12.	Torquay Leander	0	3	3	6
13.	Totnes	0	2	2	4
14.	Brixham	0	1	1	2
15.	Paignton	0	1	0	1
16.	Exmouth	0	0	3	3
17.	Devonport Royal	0	0	2	2
18.	Tavistock	0	0	1	1

Results of the Final weekend's competition can be dowloaded here

A printable summary of PL's records, medals & medal winners can be downloaded here

Emma And AJ Smokin' At Third County Meet!

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:13:42 +0000

Tiverton, England: The wow factor was very much back at the third weekend of the Devon County ASA Championships at the Exe Valley Pool in Tiverton with both Emma Wilkins and Antony James making their only appearances of the year at the meet and both taking down Devon Championship records in the process.

Wilkins was to truly put her opposition to the sword in the 100m Freestyle, destroying the Championship Record in 57.19, swimming under 57.5 seconds on three occasions across the course of the second day. Her training partner Antony James was also in no holds barred mode, as he decimated the field in the 100m Butterfly, taking the long-standing Championship Record down to 54.76.

The age group Competition Best Times (CBT’s) continued to tumble with only two days of the competition remaining, led by Charlotte McRae in the 12 years age group as she re-wrote the marks in the 12 years 100m Butterfly (1:09.72) and 400m IM (5:18.79), before adding the 800m Freestyle title to her collection. Joe Patching was also to claim two CBT’s, winning the 13 years 200m Backstroke (2:13.52) and 400m Freestyle (4:18.25) before clinching the 100m Breaststroke gold as a welcome bonus. Tabi Chivers continues to go from strength to strength as she ensured two CBT’s in the 14 years age group, with 1:05.21 in the 100m Butterfly and 4:57.25 in the 400m IM.

Adam John’s 2:04.00 in the 200m Backstroke gave him the 16 years CBT and the Championship title, whilst Jonathan Hill’s 2:04.66 gave him the CBT in the 15 years age group. Jonny was also to win the age group 400m Freestyle title. Grant Halsall was also in great form, taking the 14 years 200m Backstroke CBT down to 2:07.10, with team mate Sam Straughan trimming the 14 years 50m Backstroke CBT down to 27.83. Sam was also to win the 400m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly in this age group.

In the 100m Breaststroke, Anthony O’Driscoll’s efforts were to give him the 16 years CBT (1:06.64), with Lydia McManus also claiming a CBT of her own in the 16 years 100m Butterfly (1:05.38). In the 13 years age group, Achieng Ajulu-Bushell ensured a fine win for a CBT in the 100m Freestyle (59.13), with Joe Parker ensuring a further CBT to his name in the 14 years 100m Breaststroke (1:10.09). Alex Simon was to mop up the last of the CBT’s with a fantastic 1:00.97 in the 100m Butterfly.

Championship titles were the order of the day for Mark Conroy in the 100m Breaststroke and Laura Froshaug in the 800m Freestyle, whilst the number of PL age group golds seemed to rise and rise across the course of the weekend. Emma Carter was quite prolific in the 15 years age group, taking a hat-trick of golds in the 100m Butterfly, 100m Freestyle and 400m IM, whilst Erin Attrill was to take home a pair of victories to her name in the 13 years 100m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle. Laura Hudson was to take the 14 years 800m Freestyle title, with Fabian Whitbread matching this in the 15 years 100m Breaststroke.

Alex Pillage was to take the 10 years 400m Freestyle honours, with twin brother Myles ensuring his top podium spot in the 200m Backstroke within the same age group. Heather Millar was to make her mark in winning the 14 years 100m Freestyle, whilst Reece Dunn was also to win in the 11 years 100m Butterfly. Emma Williams was to round off the PL golden haul with a win in the 14 years 400m IM.

Silver medals were the order of the day for Rebecca Boulden, Reece Worth, David Gregory, Louis Nicholls, Callum Murphy, Zoe Blackoe, Holly Campbell, Bo Cameron, Cynfelyn Nancarrow-Lei, Mitchell Adshead, Calum Jarvis & Sammy Conroy, whilst bronze medals were duly collected by Jessie Carron, Charlotte Foulds, Lucy Parker, Ryan Hart, Ali Maclean, Jess Olie, Jodi Le Resche, Dan Jones and Nicole Jones.

Full meet results can be found here

Conroy & Hester Sparkle At Second County Meet

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:35:57 +0000

Plymouth, England: The second weekend of the 2008 Devon County ASA Championships saw a wealth of PL stars in action, none less so than Mark Conroy and Zoe Hester who were both to set new County Championship Records as part of the proceedings.

With around seven weeks to go before the British Championships are upon us, Conroy wowed the Central Park Pools crowd with his early cycle speed in the 50m Breaststroke, trimming the former County Championship Record to 29.45 to win the Championship title and the 16 years & over equivalent. Team-mate Zoe Hester was no slouch either, claiming the Championship 100m Backstroke title and Record in 1:02.95. Needless to say, Hester added the 16 years & over crown later into the meet.

Age Group Competition Best Times (CBT’s) seemed to fall at every finish, with three apiece the order of the day for Sam Straughan and Cynfelyn Nancarrow-Lei. Straughan’s dominance of the 14 years age band started with a CBT in the 100m IM (1:02.51), before following this up with further record breaking marks in the 200m Butterfly (2:10.75) and 400m IM (4:39.10). A win in the 50m Breaststroke had earlier been secured by Straughan. For Cyn, great form for a CBT in the 13 years 200m Butterfly (2:15.90) was backed up with another competition best in the 100m Freestyle (57.07). His CBT in the 100m IM heats will stand (1:05.49) despite not winning the final later in the day.

Jonny Hill’s first outing at the meet was to see him take the Championship 400m IM title and break the 15 years CBT (4:29.06) en route, beating team-mate David Gregory by only 0.01 of a second to the Championship title. A similar result was to befall Laura Froshaug as she ensured the 15 years CBT in the 400m Freestyle (4:19.89) to also win the Championship title. Joe Patching was another to claim a CBT in the 13 years 400m IM, 4:53.65 ensuring the gold, before going on to perform in the 100m IM final for a bonus victory.

In the 14 years age group, Jess Olie ensured a fine CBT in the 100m Breaststroke (1:15.34) to win the title, with training companion Emma Williams also on hand to take the 13 years 100m Backstroke CBT (1:07.43) to win this particular title. Anthony O’Driscoll was also in record breaking mood, as his win in the 16 years & over 100m IM final ensured a new PL Junior Record (59.85). Megan Bushnell’s Championship win in the 50m Backstroke was an additional highly pleasing result for the Leander contingent.

Four titles in the 14 years age group for Tabi Chivers in the 50m & 100m Backstroke, 200m Breaststroke and 400m Freestyle were followed up by Reece Dunn in the 12 years events, with Dunn taking a hat-trick of titles courtesy of the 100m IM, 400m IM and 200m Butterfly. Rebecca Boulden’s efforts in the 12 years events were to see her reign supreme in both the 100m and 200m Breaststroke finals, with Chloe Davey also taking two golds in the 10 years 200m Breaststroke and 400m Freestyle. Sammy Conroy’s wins in the 15 years 50m Backstroke and 100m Breaststroke were also strong performances, as were the pair of victories from Fabian Whitbread in the 15 years 50m Breaststroke and 100m IM.

For Myles Pillage, the 10 years 100m IM was to produce his first title, with team-mate Elliott Cunningham backing this up with his own win in the 10 years 200m Butterfly. Harry Ackland made short work of his opponents in the 11 years 100m IM, as did Holly Campbell in the 15 years 100m Backstroke. Emma Carter was too strong for her opposition in the 15 years 200m Breaststroke final, with Charlotte Foulds also claiming gold in the 16 years & over version of the event. Charlotte McRae was to round off the PL golden haul with a win of her own in the 12 years 400m Freestyle.

Silver medals were the order of the day for Joe Parker, Erin Attrill, Reece Worth, Alexander Simon, David Gregory, Dan Jones, Zoe Blackoe, Laura Selwood, Galarina Beriot & Heather Millar, whilst bronze awards were collected by Bo Cameron, Dani Baker, Aaron Rickhuss, Bradley Pearce, Adam Parfitt, Louis Nicholls, Alexander Pester, Rebekah James, Hannah Cunningham and Lucy Parker.

Meet results can be found here

Amanda Selected As Head Coach For Kenya At World Championships!

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:52:40 +0000

Nairobi, Kenya: PL Assistant Head Coach Amanda Booth has this week received notification from the Kenyan Swimming Federation that she will undertake the role of Head Coach for the Kenya Swim Team at the impending 2008 World Short Course Championships in April.

The Kenyan team comprises of four male athletes and one female, the latter being PL’s very own Achieng Ajulu-Bushell; the 13 year old is well and truly being let loose in the deep end of world swimming as she sets about preparing for the biggest meet of her career thus far.

For Amanda, this is her most senior selection to date and a massive honour for both her and the PL programme. To lead a nation into a World Championships is a dream role for any coach and as well as Achieng, Amanda will have the opportunity to coach Jason Dunford as part of the team. Dunford was a finalist in the 100m Butterfly at the 2007 World Championships (Long Course) in Melbourne.

Amanda’s selection underlines that of which all of us at PL are already aware, that she is one of the leading female coaches in the UK and beyond. PL’s last representation at a World Short Course Championships was that of Cassandra Patten in Indianapolis in 2004, where Cassie was just to fall short of the medals with fourth in the 400m Freestyle final.

Alongside Amanda on deck at the Manchester Evening News Arena will be PL’s Clive Collier who will form part of the Great Britain Team Management entourage at the meet. With a coach and a manager at the Championships, PL can once again claim all bragging rights for staff development in the Club and wish Amanda, Achieng and Clive the best of luck in their respective duties at the meet, which runs between the 9th and 13th April almost immediately after the British Championships in Sheffield.

Amanda Booth’s profile can be seen here, whilst the meet 2008 World Short Course Championships web site can be seen here

Exciting plans of how the M.E.N. Arena will be structured for the World Swimming Championships have now been released. The main pool will be a competition standard pool where all the action will take place with 8000 seats surrounding it. A second pool will be behind a curtain, invisible to the general public and will be for the athletes to warm up before they race and swim down after the race. Astrapool, partner to the World Swimming Championships, are the company behind the pools’ construction and United Utilities, supplier to the World Swimming Championships are assisting with the supply and removal of water.

John Knight, General Manager for the M.E.N. Arena exclaimed; “We’re very excited by the challenge of turning the M.E.N. Arena, renowned as an international live music venue, into a World class swimming arena. We’ve never attempted anything like this before and the project is capturing the imagination of public and staff alike. The next couple of months are going to be extremely thrilling for everyone involved and we’re looking forward to adding a touch of rock and roll to the proceedings”.

Bringing three firsts to the city; the 5 day event will be the first World Swimming Championship of its kind to ever be staged in the UK and with 800 athletes from 130 different countries confirming their entry so far this event is set to be the biggest World Swimming Championships ever! The Manchester Evening News Arena will be the first music and entertainment venue in the UK to host competitive swimming.

Head of PR, 5 Times World Swimming Champion and Mancunian James Hickman says: “It’s absolutely amazing to think there will soon be two massive swimming pools in the M.E.N. Arena. I’ve been visiting the arena to attend huge concerts for years and recently saw Take That there so to think the athletes will soon be walking in the footsteps of pop stars is fantastic – what an experience! The atmosphere will be electric. I’m just gutted I’m not swimming anymore!”

2008, And Plymouth College Redefine English Schools Swimming

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:06:16 +0000

Sheffield, England: Plymouth College’s arrival in Sheffield for the 50th English Schools Relay Championships was nothing short of monumental; the shift of power in English Schools swimming has now happened and will perhaps remain for some time to come.

The Ponds Forge International Sports Centre was to witness Leander’s primary partners dominate proceedings, winning six of the twelve titles and break the various English Schools relay records on no less than nine occasions in a matter of hours.

With only around 600 pupils in total, and under 30 athletes in their boarding programme, Plymouth College can never be considered as a ‘quantity over quality’ swimming scheme, and yet their relationship with the UK’s leading swimming club has helped them to become the country’s leading swimming school.

And the six wins could have been seven, with a winning disqualification in the Female Junior 200m Medley relay costing them the gold on this occasion. However, the 200m Freestyle relay of Heather Millar, Laura Hudson, Charlotte McRae and Achieng Ajulu-Bushell were to hold Millfield at bay to win the first gold of the meet and let loose an almighty snowball effect amongst the Plymouth entourage.

Led by Lindsay Dunn and Clive Hambly, the Male Junior 200m Medley relay of Joe Patching, Tom Pennington, Cynfelyn Nancarrow-Lei and Callum Murphy were to reduce the English Schools record to 2:03.73 in the heats (formerly 2:04.09, Millfield School in 2001) before ensuring the gold in the final over Nottingham High School. In the 200m Freestyle relay, Ryan Hart was to step into the breach over Pennington, with the quartet yet again taking the English Schools record down to 1:48.62 (formerly 1:50.64, Millfield School in 2001) before winning the event by over two seconds in the final.

In the Intermediate age band, the Plymouth College presence was more than merely maintained. The Male 200m Medley relay of Adam John, David Gregory, Grant Halsall and Jonny Hill were to break the English Schools record (1:51.16) in the heats (formerly 1:55.72, Millfield School in 1999) but couldn’t hold Millfield off in the final, missing out on the gold by 0.24 seconds. Yet another English Schools record was to fall to Plymouth in the 200m Freestyle relay heats (1:41.46) with Calum Jarvis on board for Halsall, but again Millfield were to snatch the victory in the final by just over half a second.

The Plymouth College Intermediate girls were missing Georgina Barrington on International Pentathlon duty but were to return with two medals nonetheless. Tabitha Chivers, Laura Froshaug, Zoe Hester and Bo Cameron were to go inside the former English Schools record in the final of the 200m Freestyle relay for silver, before breaking the English record not just once but twice in winning the 200m Medley relay. With Jess Olie replacing Froshaug, their time of 2:05.25 was to break the mark once (formerly 2:07.34, Millfield School in 2002), before taking it down to 2:04.42 in the final on the way to gold, some two and half seconds clear of their opponents.

To bring things to a suitable climax, the College’s Senior Female contingent were to lay down what were the most dominant displays of the meet. Lydia McManus, Jodi Le Resche, Sophie Collier and Emma Wilkins were to nudge the English Schools 200m Freestyle relay record down to 1:51.32 in the heats (formerly 1:52.40, Millfield School in 2000), with Charlotte Foulds replacing Collier in the final to win in a further record improvement of 1:49.36, a massive six seconds clear of silver medallists Eccles College. It was the Le Resche, Foulds, McManus and Wilkins quartet that were to feature in the 200m Medley relay rout, as they smashed the English Schools record (2:03.26) in the heats (formerly 2:06.41, Millfield School in 1999) before triumphing by over 5 seconds from second placed Millfield in the final.

Ambitious age group and youth swimmers (11 – 18 years) can join the country’s leading swimming and education programme by initially making contact here or by calling the Director of Swimming on 0044 1752 203243.

Full results of the meet can be found here

**2008 Meet Summary**
School	Gold Medals	ESSA Records Broken
Plymouth College	6	9
Millfield School	5	5
Peter Symonds School	1	0
Kelly College	0	1