Blenheim swimmers make a splash in Nelson

Two new regional champions from the Blenheim Swimming Club were crowned when the Swimming Nelson Marlborough long course championships were staged in Nelson last weekend.

Over 120 swimmers from across the Nelson-Marlborough region competed over four sessions in Nayland College’s outdoor 50m pool – with cold, wet and windy weather testing the swimmers over all four sessions.

Competitors aged from eight to 18 raced over distances ranging from 50 to 1500m, showing their prowess across all four swimming strokes.

The Blenheim Swimming Club took a team of 16 swimmers over the hill under the guidance of coach Jenni Gane.

Finn McNabb and Jessica Lovell both successfully defended the age group trophies they had previously won as both 12 and 13-year-old, becoming regional age group champions for the third year in a row.

The duo, who have just completed Year 9 at MBC and MGC respectively, performed exceptionally well despite not regularly training in an outdoor 50m pool. Finn won eight gold medals, while Jessica claimed four gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

Another highlight for the Blenheim contingent was the effort of 12-year-old Katie Marsh in winning the Adam & Eve relay with Joshua Amyes from the Tasman Swim Club. This race sees the fastest eight males and females pair up to race a 2x50m freestyle relay. The #1 male swims with the # 8 female, #2 male with #7 female and so on.

As part of a strong all-round team performance, following Blenheim swimmers won medals - Eliza Glover, Claudia Harris, Sophie Kole, Nicola Lovell, Katie Marsh, Lachlan McNabb, Jack Love, Hamish Timpson, Andrew Hall, Joel Verran and Quinn Verran.

Chelsea Mandeno, Jack Bugler and Hannah Kole also swam strongly to secure top five placings.

Swimmers will soon take a two-week Christmas break before beginning intensive training in January for the upcoming competitive swim season.

More information on swimming with the Blenheim Swimming Club is available at www.blenheimswimmingclub.com.