HALSALL BLOWS COMPETITION OUT OF THE WATER
Isle of Man swimmer Grant Halsall smashed the 12 year old
boys 200m Backstroke age group record and added to his medal
tally on the third day of competition at the ASA National
Age Group Championships 2007.
Halsall led from the start and proved too hard to beat in
the final. He extended his lead in the final 50m to claim
gold and the new age group record in 2:11.25 seconds. Almost
six and a half seconds behind him was Joshua Quinton (Co Birmingham)
who claimed silver in 2:17.71, Joe Patching (Plymouth Leander)
claimed bronze with a time of 2:20.48.
The new age group record holder claimed his first gold yesterday
in the 100m Backstroke and will be going for gold number three
in the boys 100m Butterfly tomorrow.
Head Coach of the Isle of Man Swimming Club Matt Stewart
was thrilled with the swim.
"It was a great performance by Grant," he said.
"He took six seconds off his PB in that swim and our
aim for the year was to claim that record. He missed the 100m
one yesterday but still claimed gold which we were happy with
but he knew he could go faster. He really is an exceptional
talent."
The 14 year old boys 100m Freestyle event proved to be one
of the closest finals of the day, with five competitors battling
it out to touch first. The final 25m saw City of Birmingham's
Dan Ruckwood and David Godridge (Hemel Hempstead) battling
it out to claim gold.
Ruckwood fought hard to claim his first gold and his second
medal of the competition. He touched in a time of 55.15 seconds.
Godridge finished just under one second slower with a time
of 55.34 seconds to take silver. The bronze went to Adam Barrett
from Reading in 55.36 seconds.
Dan's coach Carl Grovesnor was pleased with the performance.
"Dan is a talented kid," he said. "He races
hard and knows to push himself in the finals. He has a really
tough side that copes well with the pressure. He has put in
some good swims over the past couple of years and we are happy
with how he is progressing.
"He will be moving up to the seniors soon and he will
be pushed harder in training which will only lead to future
success."
James Guy continued to show his form in the 11 year old boys
200m Individual Medley, he put in a strong performance to
claim gold in a time of 2:30.70 seconds. He took the lead
after the first 100m and continued to look strong throughout
the race.
Silver was claimed by Caleb Hughes (Mid Beds) in 2:31.70
and bronze was taken by Zak Dawson (Newburn) in 2:32.91.
The Swim Trafford swimmer Guy has now claimed an impressive
five gold medals and one bronze throughout the first three
days of competition. He goes into tomorrow looking for further
success in the three more events.
Fiona Donnelly (Derventio) put in an excellent performance
in the girls 12 year old 100m Butterfly event, she finished
in a time of 1:04.53 to take her second gold and third medal
of the competition.
Charlotte Bryan (Abergele) took silver in 1:06.76 seconds
ahead of Hayley Robert (Bridgend City) who took bronze in
1:07.00.
Derventio Head Coach Mark Rose commented: "The time
was excellent, but not completely unexpected. She has been
getting good times in training and we were obviously hoping
for her to get gold in such a good time. Her training group
is really strong and they have all been pushing each other
to go faster and harder, so we really think she has more to
come."
The girls 4x100m Freestyle team final saw the crowd erupt
on the final leg as Anne Bochmann of UEA Norwich chased down
Ann Morris from Derventio. Bochmann swam an impressive time
of 29.78 seconds in her leg of the relay. But Morris held
on to claim an exciting victory for Derventio in a time of
4:04.60.
UEA Norwich took the silver in 4:05.96 ahead of Guildford
City who took bronze in 4:08.01 seconds.
The City of Birmingham took an impressive win in the boys
4x100m Freestyle team final, they took an early lead and fought
hard throughout. Ruckwood put in a good final leg to retain
the lead and claim gold in a time of 3:45.76.
Silver went to Stockport Metro who finished in a time of
3:48.10 and bronze was claimed by Plympouth Leander in 3:48.43.
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