TEN young swimmers from East Lothian Swim Team (ELST) headed south to compete in the British Swimming Summer Championships, held at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield.

The event brought together the best swimmers from across the UK and the ELST swimmers all swam very well, with some fantastic performances.

East Lothian Courier: Tegan Black swam in five events at the British Swimming Summer ChampionshipsTegan Black swam in five events at the British Swimming Summer Championships

Among the result were:

  • Girls’ 15 years – Tegan Black swam in five events (200m and 400m individual medley (IM), 200m breaststroke, 200m backstroke and the 1,500m freestyle) with a seventh-place finish in the 1,500m freestyle. Helen Stoddart also competed in this age group and swam in the 50m and 100m freestyle and the 50m and 100m butterfly events. Stoddart just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the 50m butterfly in 28.65s.
  • Girls’ 17 years and over – Louisa Stoddart competed in two butterfly events (50m and 100m), finishing 14th in the 50m event.
  • Boys’ 15 years – Zach Slater took part in three freestyle events (50m, 100m and 200m), qualifying for the final of the 100m race.
  • Boys’ 16 years – Luke Hornsey had an amazing meet, winning gold and silver medals in the 400m and 800m freestyle events respectively, as well as competing in six other events and making multiple finals (200m and 400m IM, 200m and 1,500m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 100m breaststroke). Calum Peebles qualified for six events (50m, 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle and 100m and 200m backstroke), making the final of the 100m freestyle finishing eighth.

East Lothian Courier: Helen Stoddart narrowly missed out on a place on the podium in the 50m butterflyHelen Stoddart narrowly missed out on a place on the podium in the 50m butterfly

The team also qualified for three relay events:

  • Boys’ 14-16 years – Slater, Hornsey and Peebles were joined by Ross Anderton and competed in both the 4x100m medley and the 4x100m freestyle relays, making the final and finishing fifth in the latter event.
  • Girls’ 17 and over – Louisa Stoddart was joined by Abby Davis, Emma Finlay and Iona Wilson in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

East Lothian Courier: Iona Wilson, Emma Finlay, Abby Davis and Louisa Stoddart took part in the 4x200m relayIona Wilson, Emma Finlay, Abby Davis and Louisa Stoddart took part in the 4x200m relay

Danny Kirkham, ELST performance squad coach, was delighted with the efforts of all the swimmers.

He said: “Qualifying for the British Swimming Summer Championships is an amazing achievement for these incredibly talented swimmers and a real testament for all the hard work they put into training.

“I could not have been prouder of their efforts, especially coming at the end of a long, hard season for them.”