Three of our Masters swimmers travelled to Cadiz in Southern Spain last week, along with three Masters from Berkhamsted Sports Centre, to compete in the European Masters Championships.
As the title suggests, the Championships are open to all swimmers over 25 years’ old, from across Europe, who meet the qualifying times.
Amongst some very serious competition, Pam Ware, Adrienne Monger and Dave Pirrie, came back with some very commendable results.
The week started in disappointment for Pam who cramped up badly on the second length of her first race, the 100m butterfly, having been in third place on the turn. Pam received medical treatment poolside and was unable to take part in the 200m butterfly the next day.
Although she never fully recovered for the remainder of the competition, she managed to post an impressive 11th spot on the 50m butterfly in a PB of 33.16 (long course) and 11th again in the 100m freestyle. Pam finished on a high on the last day with a PB of 30.10 in the 50m freestyle, which put her right up with the best in 10th spot.
Adrienne Monger, competing in a strong 25+ age group, came 30th in the 100m freestyle and 33rd in the 50m butterfly. She also took on the toughest event of them all, the 200m butterfly, finishing just outside her entry time.
Dave Pirrie claimed a very respectable 21st in the 200m breaststroke, commenting afterwards that he felt he could have gone faster but was wary of going out too hard in the 50m Olympic pool. In the 100m event he managed one place lower, in 22nd. Dave picked up a 31st place in the 50m freestyle in a personal best time of 30.13, spurred on by a bit of friendly competition between himself and Pam. He also managed 37th in the 50m butterfly and 46th in the 100m freestyle.
Our intrepid Masters, far from resting on their laurels, are now planning to take on the rest of the world in the Masters World Championships in Stockholm next year. In the meantime they have decided they need to concentrate on getting some more long course practice, alongside their regular training sessions at HHSC.
Full results from the championships (which included a 98 year-old swimming 200m backstroke!) are available from the following website here
For a photo of our Masters in Cadiz, go to the photos section of the website or click here