Larne was back racing less than 24hours after the first aquasprint gala in Portadown, this time short course at the Swim Belfast Open in Lisburn. This gala provided our swimmers with additional competitive racing opportunities. Swimmers from the Academy, Development, Junior National and National sqauds were in attendance.
This meet was very well supported and especially offered our younger club swimmers invaluable racing experience.
Session 1
The girls got us under way with the 25m Backstroke, Faith Crawford out first followed by Hannah Rose Aiken, Iona Tweed and Maddy McDowell. A strong start with some PBs, Hannah Rose dropping 4 seconds and 3 top 10 finishes.
The boys were up next, Evan McFarlane, Isaac Lee, and Connor Sidwell all. The boys followed up with some PBs, 1 top 10 place finish with Connor dropping a 2.6 second PB.
In the breaststroke, Faith, Hannah Rose and Iona all hit PBs, with Faith finishing 5th. In the boys Francois Du Plessis placed forth missing out on a medal by 5 tengths of a second, dropping a 3,3 PB.
In the Butterfly, Faith Crawford claimed a gold medal 🏅 a full 3 sec9nds quicker than her nearest competitor in 2nd. Hannah Rose Aiken then dropped a 5 second PB and a top 20 finish. Not to be outdone, Iona Tweed hit a PB and an 8th place finish to round off a strong butterfly swim.
The boys again were up against very tough opposition but all had very good swims with Isaac Lee finishing 10th, and Connor Sidwell placing 13th with a PB in this event which he had not swam before.
In the 25m Freestyle Faith again got us off to a super start placing 3rd, a bronze medal 🥉 and a PB. Again, Hannah followed up with a PB and 13th place out of 44 competitors. Iona dropped a PB and a top 20 place finish, with Maddy McDowell finishing 9th and a 2.45 second PB.
Not to be out done, Evan McFarlane placed 7th, Isaac Lee placing 8n the top 20 with good swims. Francois had a fantastic swim finishing 8th out of 29 competitors and dropping a massive 9 second PB. Rounding off the session was Connor Sidwell with a 1.25 second PB.
Session 2
A change in event length from 25m to 50m, with the boys getting us started in 50m Freestyle. Francois Du Plessis again hitting a PB followed by Lewis Hughes in a very strong and competitive 10-12 year old category. Rowan McConkey and Jenson Evans both competing for the first time did really well posting 50 and 52 second times in their respective age categories.
The girls continued the good racing from the morning session in the same fashion, lots of PBs and strong swims. Annabella Cole placed 10th out of 86 competitors with a new PB, followed by Olivia Beggs smashing a whopping 11.26 seconds of her entry time. Last to go was Sophie Doran from our National Sqaud finishing in 2nd overall, a silver medal 🥈, a new PB with a 28.67 time.
A change of event brought us the girls 100m Breaststroke, Amilie McKeown got us racing with a super swim placing 5th in her age category and a 7.97 time drop for a new PB. Next up was Megan O’Mahony placing 16th overall with a PB dropping 2.43 seconds. Not to be out done by her sister, Eve McKeown placed 8th in her age group with a new PB and a sub 1 minute 29 seconds.
The girls were in action again with the 50m Butterfly. Olivia Beggs was first up with another monster swim , a 45.85 seconds swim dropping 9.15 seconds, which was a great result. The butterfly finished off with gold medal 🏅 for Sophie Doran, a 30.95 second swim a new PB and a Dave McCullagh International qualifying time – congratulations Sophie.
Finishing the off the 2nd session was the boys and girls 100m backstroke. First up was the boys with Daniel Beggs placing 4th overall in the 15 and over category. Daniel hit a new PB and was the highest placed 15 year old, especially nice given Daniel was swimming against 17 and 18 year olds.
Next up were the girls, Annabella Cole and Meghan O’Mahony. Megan finished 13th overall with a monster swim and PB dropping a huge 12.65 seconds which is really nice. That gave Annabella a boost who rattled off a new PB dropping 9.71 seconds off her entry time finishing 6th overall in her category.
Session 3
The final session got underway with the boys 50m Breaststroke, Lewis Hughes getting close to breaking the minute for the first time, with a new PB. For the girls Sarah Beggs swam a 50m Breaststroke for the 1st time and a new PB. In the 15 and over category Eve McKeown placed 9th overall almost going dub 40 seconds, with Kate Clark finishing up in 16th place, which was very pleasing.
The McKeown sisters were up again next in the 100m butterfly, Amilie swam first dropping another huge PB, over 9 seconds and picking up a 3rd place bronze medal 🥉. Eve spurred on by her sister’s performance dropped a 3 second PB in a very competitive event.
In the 50m backstroke Rowan McConkey posted a PB and placed 20th, in only his 2nd competitive swim. In the 15 and over category Daniel Beggs again his class outswimming much older swimmers to post a 31.38 and a new PB finishing 3rd overall. Annabella Cole stepped up next with a strong swim in the girls 50m backstroke with a 5th place in her category, and the highest placed 11 year old. In the 13-14 year old category Oliva Beggs continued her excellent form dropping another huge 10 second Pb for an 18th place finish. Continuing the great racing for the girls was Kate Clarkin placing 12th overall with a new PB against much older competition.
In the last event, the 100m Freestyle it was the girls who rounded off a wonderful day’s swimming for Team Larne. Up first was a double header with Megan O’Mahony and Olivia Beggs swimming in the same heat in lanes 7 and 8 with both girls posting new PBs. Kate Clarkin finished off her day with a good swim in a tough heat. Next up was Annabella Cole who swam a sub 1 minute 20 second swim for the first time and a new PB. Closing out the gala in the last heat was Sophie Doran in a new PB of 1.02.11, which was a great way to end the day’s racing.
It is fantastic to see the progress being made by our swimmers. Their dedication, committment, and indomitable spirit was evident for everyone to see. The best thing about our club, swimmers and coaches is the unwavering noise and support we all have for each other.
It’s not Larne Swimming Club it’s TEAM LARNE.
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