Matthew Dolan in action on Saturday
ON SATURDAY last Ards Swimming Club held their 27th Annual Junior Open Gala. Clubs travelled from all over Ulster including Coleraine, East Cavan and Enniskillen.
The Lakelanders Club was represented by four 9 year old and under swimmers and three 10 -11 year olds.
The morning session saw the younger swimmers compete in 12 separate individual and team events.
Sophia Williams (9) came first in her heat of the 25m Backstroke and knocked 4 seconds of her personal best. Sophia also finished 3rd in 25m Breast Stroke 2 seconds better than her previous.
Ellie McCartney had a new PB of 21.13secs finishing 7th in a field of 72 swimmers in the 25m Backstroke. She also had a strong performance in the 25m Butterfly. In the 25m Freestyle Ellie produced a fantastic length to beat her best time by more than two seconds but narrowly missing a place in the final – finishing 7th overall out of 73 competitors. Ellie started the 25m Breaststroke event as 4th seed and she didn’t disappoint with a top 2 finish qualifying her for the finals later in the session beating her previous PB by more than a second. At the end of the session she competed against the six best and finished 2nd overall receiving a Silver medal for her performance.
At only 8 years old, Matthew Dolan swam a new PB of 23.67 secs in the boys 25m backstroke leaving him well ahead of many older swimmers. In the Breaststroke he produced a terrific performance to finish in the top half of the competition with a new PB of 26.03 – three seconds better. Following a good 25m Butterfly, Matthew posted times well above his age range. Matthew also finished well in the Freestyle with a time of 21.89secs.
Louie Burns had a great performance in both the 25m Butterfly and 25m Freestyle (19.56) to finish the day with 2 best ever times showing that all the hard work training is paying off.
In the Individual Medley Relay the Enniskillen Lakelanders had two swimmers; Ellie McCartney bettered her seeding of 9th with an 8th place finish and five seconds off her PB – now 1:40.33. Matthew also bettered his previous best by almost eight seconds with a time of 1:57.08.
In the morning session the Fermanagh based team entered both the Medley Relay and the Freestyle Relay at under 9. Sophia, Ellie, Louie and Matthew excelled themselves and finished 9th and 10th respectively.
The afternoon session was delayed due to technical hitches but eventually got underway with Niamh O’Kane competing in six events, achieving top eight placings with personal bests in three of these. The highlight was finishing 6th in the 100m Butterfly. Niamh aims to build on her success by achieving qualifying times in the 200m Freestyle and Butterfly events in Bangor and Lisburn.
Meabh Dolan (10) swam 1:36.13 finishing 8th overall in the 100m Back crawl and 1:24.02 in the 100m Freestyle finishing 7th taking a second of her PB. She also got PBs in 50m Back crawl and 50m Freestyle. Méabh continues to show great progress towards the Ulster Qualifying Times.
Laura McCaffrey aged 11 entered the 100m Individual IM, 50m Free, 50m Butterfly and 50m Backstroke. She reached the finals in all of these races which was acknowledged by receiving certificates and 6 personal bests. Laura went on to achieve Bronze in a competitive 50m Backstroke – she raced home in 41.02secs. Laura is also looking forward to building on this success at the Bangor Gala in two weeks time.
With the end of the season nearing, these galas are providing the perfect opportunity for the Lakelanders to demonstrate their prowess and to achieve success.
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere