IAPS National Swimming Finals
The London Aquatic Centre at Stratford once again proved to be a magnificent back-drop for the annual IAPS National Swimming Finals which saw nine of Davenies’ swimmers dive into fierce competition.
Nine Davenies’ boys met bright and early for their photo call at 7:15, before going poolside at the historic swimming venue. Qualification from the regional event at the Dragon back in February seemed a little while ago, but their achievement to get this far no less diminished. The two-fold aims were clear. Could both the U10 medley and U12 freestyle relay teams record a faster time and finish in a higher placing than in qualification? By 10 o’clock we had the answer! Both teams swam brilliantly, achieving both objectives in style. The U10s (Arthur, Morgan, Matty, Cillian) swam a best time of 1:20.57s, whilst the U12s (Harris, Zach, Edward, Nicholas) also swam a PB time of 1:04.61s. Well done to both teams.
Matty (U10 50m Butterfly), Nicholas (U12 50m Freestyle) and Oscar (U13 50m Breaststroke) then stayed on for Session 2 to compete in the their respective individual events. Unlike the HDW rules of the relays, the individual events have a two heat, one final format. Matty was unlucky to narrowly miss out on a final place by 0.3s, whilst Oscar swam a great race to finish in a time 41.60s – outside the final placings, but well inside his qualifying time of 42.53s. Nicholas ensured a grand finale by qualifying for his final in 8th place and swimming even faster in the final to finish 7th overall in a PB time of 30.23s…rapid! From a starting line-up of 91 swimmers in his event, that is a fabulous achievement in a highly competitive race.
Well done to all nine swimmers and to their travelling entourages. It was a memorable and exciting morning of competitive swimming. The Davenies contingent did themselves proud with their efforts and enthusiasm.
