Session packed full of personal bests kicks off first night at Summer Meet

It was a session filled with personal bests at the first finals session of the GoCardless Swim England National Summer Meet 2024.

84 medals were up for grabs on the first evening of action at Ponds Forge where some of the top young swimmers from across the country showcased their talent in front of a packed South Yorkshire crowd.

The lifetime bests were never as more apparent than in the open/male 100m breaststroke competition where a number of the gold medal winners set their new best times twice in one day.

That included Plymouth Leander’s Stanley Partridge who took around a second and half off of his best time as he powered his way to gold in the 17 years final.

He led the race from start to finish as, clocking in at 1:06.69, almost two seconds ahead of second place man George Cummings.

It was a performance that delighted the Plymouth man as he slapped the water in celebration as he looked up to the scoreboard.

Cummings also recorded a new best time in second as the Nottingham Leander swimmer set a 1:06.63, leading a close battle for the final medal spots. Archie Pigott completed the podium as less than two seconds split the rest of the ten man field.

Killerwhales swimmer Pigott was quickest though in 1:08.84 as Lachlan Beazley also finished in under 69 seconds with a 1:08.95.

Nicholas Land took more than 1.3 seconds from his lifetime best as he took gold in the 16 years final.

Despite it looking like a close race at the halfway stage, Land paced himself expertly as he extended his advantage in the closing 30m’s to come away with the gold.

He set a time of 1:07.33, ahead of City of Bristol’s Lachlan Taylor and Swindon Dolphins’ Lucas Carter.

Taylor came through well in the second half of the contest as he improved from fourth to second, also setting a new personal best that he broke earlier in the morning’s heats session.

Carter meanwhile won an incredibly close race to the wall between himself, Thomas O’Brien and Lewis Dickenson. The latter pair narrowly missed out on the top three, as the trio finished within 0.06 seconds of one another.

It was Carter who got his arms out stretched furthest to the wall however, clocking in at 1:09.08 to O’Brien’s (Stockport Metro) 1:09.12 and Dickinson’s (Boldmer) 1:09.14.

Joseph Wright then set a new personal best to take gold in the 14/15 Years race.

It meant he broke his personal best twice in one day as he took another second and a quarter off his time in a stunning display from the Chesterfield athlete.

He charged for the wall in the second 50m’s to pull away from the pack as he clocked in just over a second and a half ahead of second place man Thomas Bidgood.

Satellite’s Bidgood impressed himself however, setting a personal best of his own to win silver in 1:09.78. He was the only other swimmer to break the 70-seocnd barrier as Ayan Varia of Witney touched the wall in third.

Ethan McMillan-Cole found clear water to take gold in the Open/Male 13 Years 100m Breaststroke Final.

He asserted his dominance in the race, pulling away from pack in the opening 50m’s and never looking back.

McMillan-Cole split 33.75, before touching the wall in 1:11.96 as the 13-year-old was almost two seconds ahead of his nearest rivals.

There was a tie for silver as Poole’s Leo Condie and Lancing College’s Oscar Earthrowl both touched the wall in 1:13.72.

Earthrowl got out the fastest of the two but Condie managed to claw back his advantage as there was nothing to split the duo as they stretched for the wall.

Chelsea and Westminster’s Nikolai Hegre was unlucky to miss out on the podium in fourth, finishing just 0.03 off the two swimmers ahead.

Can Tugcetin of Abingdon Vale came away with gold in the 18 Years and over competition, finishing just ahead of Ley Ito.

He took two tenths off of his personal best to do it in a race which looked like it could’ve gone to either of the centre lanes.

It was Tugcetin who touched first though, clocking in at 1:03.49, whilst Ito had to settle for second with a time of 1:03.91.

20-year-old Karnell Nunes-Smith of Orion rounded out the top three after a top swim saw him set a 1:04.37 after a lightening quick first 50m’s.

Amber Valetta takes gold from lane one

There was an ‘outside smoker’ in the Female 100m Breaststroke final as Amber Valletta came from lane one to take the gold in the 17 Years race.

The Walsall swimmer stormed through from the outside to take gold, half a second clear of Basildon and Pheonix’s Mia Lowe.

Valetta was only fourth at the turn but put on the afterburners in the second half of the race to finish ahead of both Lowe and bronze medal winner Evie OHalleron-Hutchinson of Northumberland and Durham.

The top three all went under 75 seconds with Valetta setting a 1:13.68 for gold, just 0.94 ahead of OHalleron-Hutchinson’s 1:14.62.

Six swimmers came into the 14/15 Years race with new personal best times from the heats and the final didn’t disappoint.

Less than two seconds split the field as Isabelle Brock came out on top for Clevedon.

She went head-to-head with Oliva Taylor for the majority of the race but Brock kept more in the tank as they approached the finish where she was able to pull away to win in a time of 1:15.81.

Taylor fought on to win bronze for Leamington as Verity Hamilton stormed through on the outside, finishing strongly to grab silver and put on a late challenge for the crown. She just missed out however, finishing in 1:16.15.

Another medal came from the outside lanes in the 13 Years final where Rose O’Brien claimed bronze from lane eight.

She added to her gold in the 1500m freestyle from the opening day as she continues an excellent start to the meet at Ponds Forge.

She set a 1:17.49 as she just lost out in the battle for silver to Nina Morii of Camden Swiss Cottage.

However neither of them could catch Newcastle Swim Team’s Macey Brough as she finished more than a second clear of the rest of the field to take gold.

It was a new lifetime best for her in the pool with a 1:16.15 after splitting 35.54 at the halfway stage.

A stroke for stroke battle between Scarlett Davie and Ella Greatbatch headlined the 16 years final. The pair were split by just 0.04 at the turn as they led the field from start to finish.

Sevenoaks’ Davie was the one who came out on top however, finding the momentum in the final 25m’s to pull ahead and take the title in a time of 1:14.29.

Greatbatch held on for second to gain a medal for Bishop Stortford whilst Leander’s Martha Cunnifee closed in the final 50m’s but had to settle for bronze in a race that saw a lifetime best for each of the top three.

Abingdon Vale topped the podium once again in the 18 Years and over where Ellen Bagley went from strength to strength throughout the two lengths to top the timesheets.

She raced home in the second half of the race to find clear water and finish more than a second ahead of City of Cambridge swimmer Rebecca Keetley.

Bagley’s time was a new lifetime best and the first time she’s gone under the 1:13.00 mark as she clocked in at 1:12.09 with Keatley and Eloise Wade in a close battle for silver.

Keatley came out on top in the end, matching her time from the heats to equal her personal best time.

Brooklyn Hale a double medallist in para-swimming events

The multi classification 100m freestyle events kicked off the evening session with Akaash Das and Brooklyn Hale taking the golds in the open/male and female events respectively.

Das of Oswestry Otters took the title from lane zero after his time of 1:07.50 and earnt him a narrow victory on British Para-Swimming points.

The S8 swimmer swam a strong race to come out on top ahead of Zack Sturgess of Bournemouth College, who was the only swimmer to finish in under the one-minute mark.

He set a 59.42 to score 618 points to Das’ 624 in what turned out to be a close contest for the gold.

Sherwood’s Kai Gelsthorpe rounded out the top three with a score of 573 points after the S10 swimmer set a time of 1:00.94.

There was another joint silver medal in the female race where Eva French and Isabella Haynes couldn’t be split on points after two lengths of the pool.

Nuneaton’s French touched the wall the quickest of the 10-swimmer final, setting a 1:09.26, just ahead of gold medal winner Hale.

However Haynes, swimming in the S9 class, swam just as well to finish in 1:11.94, leaving them tied on 591 points.

Neither of them could quite match Hale however, as the Cockermouth finished just 0.12 slower than S10 athlete French as the S9 woman stormed to gold.

The 14-year-old impressed throughout her two lengths as the pool to become the national champion as the French and Haynes shared silver.

Haynes didn’t have to wait long to get onto the top step of the podium however as she later added 100m breaststroke gold to her freestyle silver.

She did it in style, as the South Bournemouth swimmer scored 584 points for her swim to take the crown.

The 16-year-old finished 83 points ahead of Satellite’s Samantha Lewis – who was the only other swimmer to score more than 500 points.

A time of 1:55.13 saw the S7 swimmer take silver with Maxwell’s Amanda Rwadhead completing the top three, clocking in at 1:55.25 for 497 points.

In the Open/Male MC 100m Breaststroke final, Jude Gunner set both the fastest time and scored the most points in a scintillating display.

He powered to the wall to finish three seconds faster than anyone else in the race to score 427 points.

That brought gold to St Felix School as Kai Bradford of Romford Town won silver, just 30 points off Gunner’s total whilst Hayden Hudson of Chesterfield won the bronze.

Thomas Exall on top in close final

Zain Salah of Hamilton Aquatics won the first ‘splash and dash’ race of the Championships in the Open/Male 50m Freestyle final.

The Hamilton Aquatics man put in a fine display as he was the only man to go under 24 seconds in the 15-year-old final to take commemorative gold.

He was almost a second ahead of a strong swim from Owen Wilson, who took the national gold for Ramsbottom.

He was just ahead of Leo Wisbey of Poole won the silver in a time of 24.73, 0.08 behind Wilson whilst Filip Grigoras (Thanet) won bronze.

There was a new seasons best for Mount Kelly’s Alessandro D’Onofrio as he controlled the Open/Male 16 Years 50m Freestyle Final.

He got off the blocks well as the 16-year-old set a rapid time of 23.89 ahead of the City of Sheffield’s Oliver Davis-Toothill.

That won the home town club their first medal of the night with silver as he led a pack of swimmers to the wall in the race for the minor medals.

Theodore Rodgers and Oscar Colyer were split by a hundredth of a second for bronze with Worcesters’ Rodgers just doing enough to get to the wall first and bag himself a place on the podium.

Also going under 24 seconds was Guildford City’s Christian Gayle who won gold in the 17 Years final.

After being the only swimmer to do so in the heats, he was the favourite for the race and he duly delivered, putting up a new personal best in a time of 23.65 to go away with the title.

Zac Cooper of Millfield put up a strong challenge in second as he raced Gayle to the wall. He ended up just two tenths behind his rival as he also went under that 24 second mark.

Bramcote’s Laurel Roberts-Burrell won bronze in 24.06.

The top two seeds from the heats, Ben Blowers and Thomas Exall came into the 18 Years and over final with the exact same time and the final turned out to be almost just as close.

Exall improved to take gold in a time of 23.14 as the Mid Sussex swimmer took away a deserved gold medal but it was the battle behind him that caught the eye.

Three swimmers were tied for fourth place with the Isle of Man’s Joel Watterson finishing just 0.01 ahead of them all to snatch the final spot on the podium.

Watterson set a time of 23.41 with all three of Blowers, Ethan Baylin and Daniel Gencas all clocking in at 23.42.

The trio were all unlucky to miss out on silverware but will go away knowing that they put in a strong swim in front of the Ponds Forge crowd.

Adrian Ting of the University of Birmingham managed to get in front of that group however, coming away with a superb silver in a time of 23.29.

Hallissey adds to British silver with national gold

Evelyn Hallissey continued her fine two weeks at Ponds Forge with gold in the Female 14/15 Years 200m Freestyle.

After winning silver in the 200m backstroke at the Aquatics GB Summer Championships last week, she upgraded to freestyle gold thanks to fast-paced final 50m’s.

She split 31.7 to close out the race, coming from behind to touch the wall first by 1.21 seconds.

The Newcastle Swim Team’s athlete final time was 2:08.58 with Eva Higginbotham of Swindon Dolphins also impressing for second. She took silver in 2:09.37 whilst Elodie Pearcey of Repton completed the top three.

The entire field of athletes in the 12/13 Years race came into the final in fine form after setting new lifetime bests in the heats.

They all carried on that momentum in the final with a group of strong swims from all ten athletes but it was Autum Claxton that came out on top.

She led right from the off, splitting 29.15 in the first 50m’s to ask questions of the chasing pack behind her.

City of Birmingham’s Ellie Hull put the pressure on in the closing stages, charging through the field in the latter half of the race to come within half a second of the gold.

Her time was just under the 2:10.00 mark with a 2:09.99 whilst Salford’s Claxton topped the leaderboard with 2:09.53. South Tyneside Swimming Club’s Chloe Brotherton set a 2:11.01 for bronze.

There was another gold for Salford in the 16 years final when Alice Volkovaya’s late surge took her to the top step.

She and Phoebe Chadwick both came from behind in the final 50m’s after Holly Hopwood led the majority of the race but it was Volkovaya who won gold in 2:08.37.

Chadwick came back for second but it was a shared one with Wrekin Swimming Club’s Beth Barrett who was came from even further back to get herself on the podium.

Repton’s Madison Emment was in full control of the 17 Years 200m Freestyle Final.

She went two seconds faster than her qualifying time to finish more than a second ahead of the rest of the field.

Her time was a 2:07.17 as Stockport Metro’s Sophie Traill followed her home for silver with Lexie O’Connor earning bronze.

It was a similar story in the 18 years and over event where a dominant Jessica Humm won gold for Rushmoor Royals.

She led from the off, coming in at 2:04.95 in a controlled and expertly managed race.

Behind her there was just a hundredth of a second between second place Lola Burns and third place Alicia Massie at the halfway point.

The two pulled ahead of the rest but it was Burns kept enough back in the first 100m to give her that extra boost to the wall and claim silver by just a tenth of a second.

It earnt the Beckenham swimmer silver with Surrey University’s Massie getting bronze.

Benjamin Guthrie puts in the swim of the night

The Open/Male 400m Individual Medley closed out a fantastic first night at the GoCardless Swim England National Summer Meet.

It was headlined by a sensational swim from City of Milton Keynes’ Benjamin Guthrie who set a time that was fast enough to finish fifth at the Aquatics GB Summer Championships last week.

He surged to the front during the backstroke leg alongside Wycombe District’s Samuel Williams before extending his advantage to almost five seconds after the breaststroke.

The pack behind closed a little during the freestyle leg but Guthrie held firm to take the crown by 4.33 seconds.

Jake Chesworth from Maxwell ran out best of the rest with a strong swim of his own, particularly in the freestyle.

James Page from City of Birmingham took the bronze, just pipping Williams by 0.05.

The home pool club – City of Sheffield – took their first gold of the day in the final event when Harry Osbourne motored towards the finishing line in the 12/13 Years final.

He led the majority of the contest to record himself a new personal best effort of 5:01.65 which was more than four seconds clear of Oscar Earthrowl in second.

It was Earthrowl’s second silver of the night which wrapped up a good evening in Sheffield for him whilst 12-year-old Daniel Lawrence stood out to win bronze.

The Staines athlete was the only swimmer of his age in the final and put in one of the performances of the night to finish in a time of 5:08.84.

Thomas Swales set a new personal best as he added another Summer Meet gold to his collection.

After taking 800m Freestyle gold in 2023, the Nova Centurion swimmer returned to Sheffield for another medal as he won the 14/15 Years 400m Individual Medley in a time of 4:45.30.

There was an even bigger personal best for second place Flynn Adams, who shaved five seconds off of his time whilst Rhys Pownall of Preston won the bronze.

Another nine swimmers came into the 16-year-old final but it was Roger Davis and Jack Bignell who went head-to-head for gold.

Davis led throughout but a late charge from Bignell almost denied the Soundwell swimmer a place on the top of the podium.

Just two tenths of a second split the pair at the line but Davis did enough for the win as Northampton’s Bignell settled for silver.

Aubry Armada Bennett looked like Davis’ closest challenge for a lot of the race ended up in third after Bignell’s strong freestyle leg.

He went away with bronze with a time of 4:45.10.

The final title of the night went to the City of Manchester Aquatics swimmer Donatas Dragasius.

He beat his own personal best from the heats to give the North West club their first gold of the day, finishing ahead of a race to the wall for second.

Joseph Bixton’s impressive breaststroke leg brought him right into the hunt for the medals and he challenged Rico Bringeman right until the end as they duelled for the final two spots on the podium.

It was Bringeman who came out on top after he went with the leaders pace to start off the contest and held on well to the line to finish in 4:37.09.

The winning time of Dragasius was a 4:34.42.

For all the results from the GoCardless Swim England National Summer Meet 2024, click here.

Images: Will Johnston Photography