Regional swim champions crowned

The Blenheim Swimming Club has two new regional champions.

Nicola Lovell and Claudia Harris both swam strongly at the Swimming Nelson Marlborough Long Course Championships in Nelson last weekend to claim regional age group trophies.

Leading swimmers from across the Nelson Marlborough region competed over four sessions in the Nayland College outdoor 50m pool from December 10-11.

Conditions were challenging with cold, wet and windy weather testing the swimmers throughout. Competitors aged from eight to 18 raced over distances ranging from 50 to 1500 metres, demonstrating their prowess in all four swimming strokes.

The Blenheim Swimming Club fielded a team of 11 swimmers, competing within age groups and scoring across a specific set of events in order to qualify for trophies.

Nicola (13) and Claudia (12) performed exceptionally well despite not regularly training in an outdoor 50m pool. Nicola won seven gold, one silver and one bronze medal, Claudia picking up won six gold, one silver and one bronze.

Blenheim Swimming Club senior men's swimmers also brought the Workers Co-Op Shield home to Marlborough for the first time in more than 10 years. Jack Love, Finn McNabb, Max Skehan and Joel Verran swam the 4x100m freestyle relay event in less than four minutes to finish almost 10 seconds ahead of the leading Nelson combination.

A strong all-round team performance saw the following Blenheim swimmers also win medals or place in the top five: Sophie Kole, Hannah Kole, Jessica Lovell, Jack Love, Finn McNabb, Max Skehan, Joel Verran and Quinn Verran and Anna Love.

The Blenheim Swimming Club also claimed the YMCA trophy for most points scored per swimmer.

Swimmers will soon take a two-week Christmas break before beginning intensive training in January for the upcoming competitive swim season. For more information on swimming with the Blenheim Swimming Club, please visit their website at www.blenheimswimmingclub.com