2016 BRITISH SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday July 26th-Sunday July 31st
- Ponds Forge International Sports Centre – Sheffield, England
- Prelims – 9 am local (4 am EDT); Finals –4:30 pm local (11 am EDT)
- Psych Sheets
- Results
The British Summer Championships kicked off from Ponds Forge today with a collection of victories from around the nation. The annual meet is a component of GBR’s Performance Pathway Strategy, which is aimed at improving the quality of the junior aged talent in the country in hopes of grooming them for international success at the senior level.
Competing in Sheffield are swimmers categorized into ages as follows: 13-14 yr, 15 yr, 16 yr, 17-18 yr and 19 yr and over. To be eligible for the competition swimmers had to be ranked in the top 24 in the country in their age category. For the 800 and 1500 freestyle it was only the top 18 that were invited.
The men’s 19+ age group saw a thrilling race right off the bat in the form of a men’s 400m freestyle battle between Sheffield’s Nicholas Grainger and Bath’s Jay Lelliott. Lelliott led through the 200m mark, but that’s when Grainger made his move and closed the gap. The 21-year-old would finish the race in 3:50.11 for first, while Lelliott touched just .03 of a second behind in 3:50.14 for silver.
Both men made it to the final in this same event at the British Olympic Trials in April of this year, with Grainger finishing 8th in 3:53.50 to Lelliott’s 3rd place result in 3:47.68 at that meet.
The women’s 200m freestyle event saw several sub-2-minute swims on the night, led by 19+ swimmers Maya Westlake and Lucy Hope. Westlake doubled up on freestyle wins for Sheffield by claiming the 200m event in a time of 1:59.85, the first time the 19-year-old has ventured under the 2-minute threshold.
The same holds true for Hope, as the Edinburgh swimmer notched a mark this evening of 1:59.92, bettering her own personal best of 2:00.91 from just June of this year.
Britain’s 200m butterfly national record holder for 15 year olds, Emily Large of Newcastle, wrangled in a victory in her age group in the 400m IM tonight. Large nabbed a winning time of 4:49.16, the 2nd fastest of her young career. Her time was swift enough to better the winning time of tonight’s 16-year-old winner, Tazmin Pugh. Pugh won the older age range in 4:51.98, also the 2nd best time of the Ellesmere swimmers career.
Other notable winners:
- Charlie Attwood (Bath) took the men’s 19+ 100m breaststroke in a time of 1:00.82.
- Leicester’s Candice Hall took the women’s 19+ 400m IM in a mark of 4:44.45.
- Charlie Boldison from Stirling topped the podium in the men’s 19+ in 25.42.
- Abbie Wood of Loughborough snagged gold in the 17/18 400m IM, clocking a time of 4:42.20.