There was a rush on medals from Hemel Hempstead’s swimmers at the Barnet Copthall Novice Meet on 4th October. Lewis Beardsworth set the standard by winning three silver medals.
Beardsworth bettered his fourth position in the heats of the 11 years’ backstroke to finish second. He claimed two further silvers, in the 50m breaststroke and 100m IM, managing to shave off more time from his performances in the heats.
Alisha Kan, fresh from her success at Maxwell, also made three finals. She kept her 3rd place from the prelims in the 10 years’ 50m butterfly, along with her 4th place from the prelims in the 50m breaststroke. She earned another medal for 7th place in the 50m backstroke and narrowly missed the final of the 50m freestyle, finishing 12th.
Ben Garratt went one place better in the final of his 9 years’ 50m butterfly event, moving up from 4th to 3rd place. He also improved on his 50m breaststroke, from 7th in the prelims to 5th in the finals. Garratt just missed out on a final in the 50m freestyle, coming 9th. A great day of results for the young swimmer also included 13th in the backstroke.
Emily Jelfs was in the hunt for a County time on her 100m IM. She finished joint 4th in the 10 years’ final, edging ever closer to the time she needs.
Lauren Windsor also had a good day at the office, with three finals appearances. She came 4th in the 10 years’ 50m backstroke, 6th in the butterfly, and 8th in the freestyle.
Rebecca Farrow,11, swam to 5th position in the 50m butterfly and 7th in the 50m breaststroke, finishing just outside the finals in 11th in the 50m backstroke and 12th in the 50m freestyle.
Isabella Sherwani-Keeling came 10th in both the 10 years’ 50m free and 100m IM.
Chloe Hall, at 9 years’ old, posted 10th in the girls’ 50m breaststroke, coming 14th in the 50m butterfly, and 20th in the 50m freestyle.
Joshua Long swam consistently to finish 14th in the 11 year boys’ 100IM and 17th in the backstroke.
Emma Riley swam all day long, with a 23rd in the 10 year girls’ 50m breaststroke and 50m butterfly, 29th in the 50m freestyle and 33rd in the 50m backstroke. She finished off the day with her highest placing, coming 18th in the 100m IM.
Keelin McKenna, who a couple of weeks ago was lifting the trophy for the Chilterns team, continued to build on her race experience with 21st in the 10 year gorls’ 50m backstroke and 100m IM, 24th in the breaststroke, and 33rd in the 50m freestyle.
Nine year old novice Harry Sexton finished 23rd in both the backstroke and breaststroke. His contemporary, Alex Eades, came one place behind on the backstroke in 24th .
The meet was designed for swimmers who hadn’t medalled before at an open meet. Medals were awarded to all finalists. Points were also awarded to individuals to go towards an overall score for their club. Hemel, with a small contingent, finished a very respectable 9th out of 14.
To see a photo of our swimmers at Barnet, check out the photos section of the website.