CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS FALL AT YOUTH OLYMPICS
Great Britain's swimmers are celebrating after a sensational
second night in the pool that saw them secure a new championship
record with each of their four gold medals at the European
Youth Olympic Festival in Italy.
Their overall tally now totals seven golds which puts them
at the top team in the pool and is key to Great Britain's
current standing at the top of the overall medal table.
Lizzie Simmonds picked up her third medal of the Festival
as she struck gold in both the 200m Backstroke and 200m Individual
Medley.
The 14-year-old Lincoln Vulcans swimmer set new Festival
records in the back to back races, finishing the backstroke
race in 2:21.59 seconds a clear five seconds ahead of the
field. In the medley, Simmonds set a second personal best
time of 2:18.72 seconds.
In spite of the timing system failing in the 100m Freestyle,
City of Birmingham's Lauren Collins set a personal and Championship
best time of 57.90 seconds, and following a protest took the
gold.
The team's fourth medal of the night came courtesy of the
Mixed 4x200m Freestyle as Steven Beckerleg (Plymouth Leander),
Ellen Gandy (Beckenham), Adam Brown and Ceri Unwin (both Hatfield)
set the standard to take the top spot in a sub eight minute
time of 7:59.68 seconds, more than seven seconds ahead of
second placed Russia.
"The enthusiasm of the team has been outstanding,"
beamed Head Coach Graeme Bassi. "They have been totally
controlled and swam even better races than yesterday.
"I am extremely proud of every team member - they have
been totally supportive of each other. Hopefully we will go
on to create a lasting memory here for them all.
"The job is only half done though, and we now need to
focus on the last two days in order to achieve our goals."
The team will spend tomorrow's rest day undergoing further
training and race preparation in a bid to ensure they reach
the tough targets set for the meet.
The 16-strong British Swimming team to attend the
European Youth Olympic Festival is as follows: Lizzie
Simmonds (Lincoln Vulcans); Ellen Gandy (Beckenham); Ceri
Unwin (Hatfield); Helena Thornton (Nova Centurion); Lauren
Collins (City of Birmingham); Adam Brown (Hatfield); Jonathan
Cook (Nova Centurion); Michael Newell (Aquabears); Marco Loughran
(Guildford City); Steven Beckerleg (Plymouth Leander); Stuart
Houston (Ren 96); Chris Fox (Wolverhampton); Robert Matthews-
Stroud (Wycombe District); Chloe Hart (Beckenham); Max Partridge
(City of Sheffield); Grant Turner (Tigersharks).
The European Youth Olympic Festival takes place in
Lignano, Italy from 3-8 July. The swimming programme
runs over four days from 4-8 July with a rest day on 6 July
and includes the following events:
Freestyle 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m (G)/1500m (B),
Backstroke 100m, 200m,
Breaststroke 100m, 200m,
Butterfly 100m, 200m,
Individual medley 200m, 400m,
4x100m Medley relay
4 x 100m Freestyle relay
4 x 200m Mixed Freestyle relay (2 boys/2 girls)
British Medal Tally:
GOLD Ceri Unwin 400m Freestyle 4:16.48
GOLD Ellen Gandy 100m Butterfly 1:02.60
GOLD Simmonds, Gandy, Hart, Collins Girls' 4x100m Free 3:53.72
SILVER Jonathan Cook 200m IM 2:07.86
BRONZE Helena Thornton 200m Breaststroke 2:36.14
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