Golden hat-trick as Team Bath AS swimmers impress at Age Group Championships
The Team Bath AS swimming squad proved they are a force to be reckoned with at the regional Age Group Championships as they took three golds, 12 silvers and 12 bronze medals across four days of competition at Hengrove and Millfield.
In the opening event our 12yr boys kicked off with a 3,4,5 in the 400m Freestyle with Max Adams claiming bronze and Oliver Saunders (4th) and Olly Watts (5th) following him home; only to be followed by Jayden Wordley’s 4th place in the 14yr age group.
The girls got started with Alice Barton reaching the 14yr 200IM finals (6th) which she quickly followed with a bronze in the 100m Freestyle. There was success here also for Rue Fowler who won bronze and Margot Lewy-Peirre (5th).
Our 12yr boys then returned to the finals with Oliver Saunders claiming his first bronze medal in the 50m Backstroke and Olly Watts taking the Team’s first silver in the boys 50m Breaststroke. But the excitement didn’t stop there as our two Oliver’s then amazingly tied for joint silver shortly after in a thrilling 200m Butterfly final, rounded off for the Team by another bronze for Jayden Worldey in the same event.
With the momentum building the Team cheered ecstatically as Max Adams claimed his first gold medal in the 11/12yr 100m Backstroke final with fellow finalist Oliver Saunders coming 5th. This was followed swiftly by a further bronze Medal for Alice Barton and a 7th place for Margot Lewy-Pierre in the girls 100m Backstroke.
As Day 2 dawned it was time for the Girls 400m Freestyle where Alice Barton won silver and Rue Fowler and Lydia Crawford finished 4th and 5th respectively; in the next girls event Alice continued to deliver with 5th place in the 14yr 100m Butterfly finals.
In the Boys 200m Freestyle Max Adams won bronze and Oliver Saunders took 4th place in a closely fought finals. Our 12yr boys continued their success and were well represented throughout the afternoon finals: In the 50m Butterfly Max Adams took the bronze with Olly Watts 4th and Oliver Saunders 7th; in the boys 50m Freestyle Max powered home to take his second gold & Olly Watts the silver, with Oliver Saunders taking 6th place; and in the boys 200m Breaststroke Oliver Saunders and Olly Watts came 4th and 7th respectively.
The girls 200m Backstroke gave Team Bath AS two more finalists with Margot Lewy-Pierre coming 5th and Alice Barton winning the 14yr silver medal.
Down at Millfield for day 3 and the boys were quick to get the medal tally rolling with Oliver Saunders taking silver in the 200IM with Olly Watts coming 6th and then Jayden taking 4th in the 14yr finals.
Out of nowhere, Team newcomer Tilly Birkett than swam an impressive PB in her 50m Backstroke heat and then confidently took the bronze medal in the girls 11/12yr finals with Margot Lewy-Pierre taking 6th place, followed by Alice Barton coming 5th in the 14yr age group.
With the boys 100m Freestyle up next our 12yr trio all reached the finals once more, with Max Adams powering home to his third gold medal, with Oliver Saunders 4th and Olly Watts taking 8th.
Things got quieter in the afternoon as the long distance events loomed with Team Bath AS represented by three swimmers. First, Lydia Crawford took 6th place in the girls 800m Freestyle; then after an agonising wait as the heats passed, Oliver Saunders claimed a silver in the 11/12yr 1500m Freestyle, with Jayden Worldey taking 4th place in the 14yr event.
Team spirit remained high on the final day of Regionals at Millfield for Team Bath AS and the hard work and positive energy continued to pay off.
Rue Fowler (bronze) and Alice Barton (silver) confidently medalled in the girls 200m Freestyle, with Alice taking a further bronze in the Girls 50m Butterfly.
After taking 5th place in the Boys 100m Breaststroke finals, Oliver Saunders stepped up to take the silver in the boys 400IM with Olly Watts coming 4th. In the 14yr age group Jayden Worldey brought home the second silver in the 400IM for the Team.
It was a triple again for our 12yr boys in the 100m Butterfly finals – Max Adams with the bronze, Olly Watts 4th, Oliver Saunders 5th. Oliver stepping up again in the 200 Backstroke finals to take the final silver medal for the team.
Alongside our notable results in the finals is credit for our remaining Team Bath AS Regional Age Group Qualifiers – Ruby Galpin, Niamh Ward, Jude Roberts, Cara Hickey, Charlie Hemmens, Elliot Wood, Archie Pritchard, Finlay Saunders and Arthur Bown-Mazzoni who showed a continued positive attitude, infectious team spirit and an impressive demonstration of skills, while collecting some notable PBs during the Championships.
Team Bath AS, formerly known as Aquae Sulis, is a performance swimming club which draws its swimmers from local clubs. It provides a link between the Team Bath Learn to Swim programme and the University’s swim team, as well as the elite British Swimming National Centre based at the Sports Training Village.
