Swimmers from Stocksbridge Pentaqua Swimming Club have been celebrating over the holidays after a very successful year achieving smashing results at competitions.
After two years of Covid disruptions, a full year of galas took place in 2022, which Stocksbridge swimmers made the most of. The average PB (personal best rate) was over 70% and swimmers competed at local, county, regional and even national level.
The Yorkshire county championships took place in February and then again in September/October. Across the 2 competitions, Stocksbridge swimmers competed in 172 swims and attained 41 top-ten placings. These were achieved by Phoebe M, Lauren W, Ursula C, William W, and Freddy B, Mateo M, Finley M, Logan P, and Paddy N who won 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal. The club also entered 7 relay teams for the February competition and achieved 3 top-ten placings.
Hot on the heels of each of the county competitions were the North East Regionals. The Spring championships took place in April and May, followed by the Winter competition in November. Qualifying swimmers competed in 63 swims and clocked up 15 top-ten placings including 3 bronze medals for Paddy N, 2 silver medals for Finley M, plus a silver and 2 bronze medals for Phoebe M who also won a well-deserved gold in the 50m breaststroke!
During 2022, Stocksbridge Pentaqua also had 4 swimmers qualify for the summer national competitions – an incredible achievement for a small, volunteer-lead club!
Qualification for the summer nationals is based on rankings, so the club was thrilled to have one swimmer securing a place in the British Summer Championships, 2 swimmers earning a place in the Swim England National Summer Meet, and one swimmer qualifying for the Scottish National Open Championships.
All national events took place during July and August in Sheffield and Aberdeen with Stocksbridge swimmers achieving fantastic results. Fin M came 12th in the British National Championships in the men’s 16 years category for 50m freestyle. In the Swim England National Summer Meet, Oliver W reached the final in the men’s 17 years category for 50m freestyle, finishing 9th overall; and Paddy N reached the final for 200m freestyle in the men’s 13/14 years category, finishing 9th overall.
Commenting on the swimmers’ success in 2022, Head Coach, David Wright said, “2022 was a fantastic year for our club. Our swimmers work extremely hard in training and that has shown in their phenomenal gala results. To have 4 of our swimmers competing at national events was also absolutely fantastic, particularly as we are a small volunteer-run club with limited resources, but it just goes to show what is possible from hard work and the support of our dedicated team of coaches. We are certainly looking forward to the new year ahead.”
To find out more about Stocksbridge Pentaqua Swimming Club including information on how to join, visit https://www.stocksbridgepentaqua.co.uk/