A team of 21 South Lincs Competitive Swimming Club members picked up numerous personal best (PB) times and 24 medals at the Winter Open Meet in Birmingham last week.
This was an opportunity for the senior swimmers in the Spalding-based club to get some much needed racing experience after a prolonged hiatus due to COVID-19.
Day one of the competition saw Rico Bringeman produce some outstanding performances. In the 200m IM when he swam strongly across all four strokes to lower his PB time by four seconds 2.12.74mins.
That earned him bronze in the boys’ 15/16 years age group and saw him qualify for the national short course championships in December.
Bringeman also won gold in the 200m butterfly in a PB and new club record time of 2.09.75mins.
PB times and bronze medals followed in the 400m IM and 200m freestyle to round off his day in style.
Ellisha Cookson was the second medallist of the day, claiming silver in the girls’ 17 years and over age group in the 50m breaststroke.
A PB time followed in the 50m backstroke (32.78secs) and to finish her day Cookson set a further PB in the 100m IM (1.06.48mins) as she claimed second place.
Frank Lamb also had a strong day of swimming despite battling with illness.
He took a silver medal in the boys’ 12 years age group 200m butterfly in an eight second PB (2.53.48mins).
New PB times followed in the 50m freestyle (31.83secs) and 400m IM (5.51.82mins), before Lamb finished his day with a win in the 100m breaststroke heats, again in a new best time.
Meanwhile, there was double silver for Oscar Goldsmith.
He sped through the 200m butterfly in a new PB of 2.29.61mins to take second.
Goldsmith’s second medal then came in the 200m freestyle with a PB swim of 2.12.82mins.
There were also PB times in the 200m IM (2.30.60mins) and 400m IM (5.15.07mins) to finish his day.
Alex Sadler was also a medallist on day one, in the boys’ 14 years age group.
It came in the 200m butterfly with a impressive PB of 2.25.26 mins, before Sadler went on to clock other new bests in the 50m freestyle (27.32secs) and 200m freestyle (2.08.13mins).
In the boys’ 12 years age group, there was a bronze medal for Matteo Monaco in the 400m IM with a PB swim of 5.45.92mins.
More PB times followed in the 50m freestyle (30.90secs), the 100m backstroke (1.16.67mins) and 200m freestyle (2.26.96), the latter en-route to a heat win.
The final act of day one saw Emma Croker stormed to second in her girls’ 15/16 years 100m freestyle in a PB of 57.03secs.
Another new best was achieved in the 50m backstroke (31.39secs), too.
Day two was equally successful for the South Lincs swimmers.
Bringeman picked up where he left off, striking gold on two occasions.
The first came in the 100m butterfly in another PB time of 59.28secs – his first time under one minute. A second gold came in the 100m IM with a further PB of 1.01.85mins.
For good measure, Bringeman added a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle (PB) and a further best in the 100m freestyle.
Monaco added more medals to his collection, too.
An excellent 400m freestyle swim landed bronze in a new best of 5.01.84mins, before a further bronze went his way in the 100m IM in a new PB time (1.17.64mins).
Goldsmith was another to continue with his exceptional form on day two.
A 12-second PB in the 400m freestyle helped him to a silver, while he shattered his PB in the 100m butterfly and added new best standards in the 100m freestyle and the 200m breaststroke.
Lamb, meanwhile, added a further silver to his medal tally as he sped through the 50m breaststroke in a PB of 40.52secs. He clocked new best times in the 100m butterfly (1.18.58mins) and 100m IM (1.18.93mins), too.
The impressive Croker kicked off her second day with silver in the 50m freestyle and the 50m butterfly.
Her best showing came in her final event, though, as a two-second PB of 2.03.92mins sealed silver in the 200m freestyle.
Not to be outdone, Cookson also added more medals too. She struck silver in the demanding 400m IM, before finishing her campaign with a PB 100m breastroke time of 1.13.20 for her fourth silver of the meet.
