A large contingent from Harwich Swimming Club travelled to Crown Pools at the weekend to attend the Mighty March Open meet hosted by TeamIpswich. For many this was their first Open meet and every single member of the team acquitted themselves, coming home with numerous PBs and medals.
Club Coach and Team Manager Katie Holmes led by example, coming 2nd in the 200m Breaststroke, 100m Breaststroke and 50m Breaststroke and gaining a season’s best in the 100m Freestyle.
Matt Kent was outstanding in his age group, gaining 2nd places in 200m Backstroke smashing his PB by 7 seconds, 100m Backstroke and 3rd place in the 200m Individual Medley. He also gained a one second PB in the 100m Freestyle.
Syd Roberts showed fantastic technique in the 50m Backstroke and 100m Butterfly. He finished 3rd in the 50m Backstroke just outside his PB and 5th in the 100m Butterfly, knocking 1 second off his longstanding personal best.
13 year old Poppy Jacques again showed her expertise in the Butterfly events. She placed 3rd in the 100m Butterfly just outside her recently set PB and place well in the 50m Butterfly. Poppy also beat her PB in the 100m Freestyle
Swimmers competing in their first open meets were Ethan Davenport, Nancy Garner, Georgia Davenport, Marley Carr, Oliver Pickersgill, Katherine Crookes and Bella Ward. Ethan came 3rd in the 50m Butterfly, beating his previous personal best by over 6 seconds in the 10 years age group. He also beat his PB in the 50m freestyle. 9 year old Nancy came 3rd in the 50m Breaststroke, her first time swimming at that distance. Georgia swam in the 12 years age group smashing her personal bests in the 50m backstroke, 50m and 100m freestyle. 11 year old Marley started off by smashing his 100m freestyle time by more than 23 seconds. He followed this with a 5 second PB in the 50m backstroke and 4 second PB in 50m Breaststroke. Oliver competed in the 14 years age group. He attacked every race he competed in from the start, smashing every single PB, showing how much he has improved over the recent months. Katherine and Bella both competed in the 50m Breaststroke in their age groups, each gaining PBs and swimming well.
10 year old Alice Jennings swam a great 200m Freestyle, her first time competing at that distance and finished in 3rd place. She just missed out on a medal in the 50m Butterfly, coming 4th and beating her personal best by more than 5 seconds.
Harry Tilley swam well in the 13 years age group, gaining PBs in all events.
Tabitha Pickersgill was outstanding over the weekend. She tackled 8 events over the weekend including 200m Freestyle and 200m Individual Medley and her PBs just tumbled.
Jasmine Hall-Barnett was swimming in her first open meet in the 14 years age group. She smashed her 50m Backstroke PB by more than 5 seconds, gaining a regional time for that event. She also swam well in the 100m Backstroke, 50m Breaststroke and 100m Breaststroke.
Molly and Thomas Richardson are regulars at Open and County meets. Their hard work in training rewarded them both with PBs. Molly managed to cut nearly 3 seconds off her 200m freestyle time and half a second off her 100m freestyle. Thomas smashed his 100m freestyle PB by 4 seconds. He also PB’d in 50m Breaststroke and 50m Backstroke.
Isabelle Tye’s hard work and perseverance in training finally paid off with a new PB in her 50m Butterfly. Jemima Garner gained PBs in 50m and 100m Freestyle and 50m Breaststroke where she placed just outside the medals in 5th place with a 7 second PB.
John Burke has been really putting the effort into training which has certainly paid off. In the 11 years age group, John competed in 50, 100 and 200m Freestyle and 50m and 100m Breaststroke. In all events he set massive PBs, most notable being the 200m Freestyle where he finished in 4th place with a 13 second PB.
Boy’s Team Captain Barney Weston came away with 4 PBs in the 100m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, 50m Breaststroke and 50m Freestyle.
Menna Beegan swam well in all the events she entered. She set 5 PBs, her best event being 100m Backstroke placing 7th with a 5 second PB.
Girl’s Team Captain Eleanor Newman smashed her PB by 15 seconds in the tough 200m IM placing 7th. She placed just outside the medals in 5th place in the 100m Butterfly with a 3.5 second PB and cut 4 seconds off her 100m Freestyle time.
After the long lockdown with no competitions, this meet proved how hard the swimmers have been working in training and everyone deserved their success.