CHARLESWORTH TAKES GOLD IN EUROPEAN JUNIOR EVENT
The British Open Water squad competing at the European Junior
Championships in Milan today have walked away with a gold
medal.
The three-strong squad comprising of Richard Charlesworth
(Hatfield), Alice McCall (Wigan Best SC) and Rachel Jack (City
of Leeds) competed in 5km swims in the one-day event.
Charlesworth, who has only moved into open water swimming
this year, walked away with the gold, beating his nearest
rival by 23 seconds.
McCall put in a strong performance in the girls race finishing
fourth, with Rachel Jack taking 14th position.
British coach Mark Perry was delighted with the squad's performance
"This is a fantastic result for us. Britain has never
won a medal at the European Juniors before, so to come away
with a gold medal in the boys event and record a top four
finish in the girls race is a real achievement." he said.
Tomorrow will see World Championship silver medallist Cassie
Patten head up of squad of British athletes set to compete
in the LEN Open Water Cup (10km) in Milan.
The Stockport Metro swimmer is joined by World Championship
teammates Alan Bircher (University of Bath) and Keri-Anne
Payne (Stockport Metro), with Simon Panting (Northampton)
and Richard Charlesworth (Hatfield) completing the team.
Patten and Bircher will look to build on their medal winning
performance at the Festival of Open Water in London last month.
The British took a European title a piece at the LEN 5km
Open Water Swimming Cup, forming part of the weekend's events
in windy conditions.
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