Swimmers make mark in Renmark

Swimmers make mark in Renmark

After four days of tough competition at the SA Country Swimming Championships held in Renmark the Mount Gambier Swimming Club Inc made its mark.

The club sent a team of 10 swimmers and have come away from the Championships with an amazing total of 71 PB’s, 33 finalists, six individual medallists and three 3 relay medals.

The youngest stars in the pool were Darcy Burford and Jessica Oxlade competing in the Superfish events.

Burford jumped into the water five times including two 10-11 years championship events and recorded personal best times and placed sixth as a finalist in the 50m backstroke.

He also finished 10th in the 100m backstroke final and scored a win with a PB in the 50m freestyle event.

Oxlade swam well in her three Superfish events to book a spot in the 10-11 year-olds 100m backstroke championship race and smashing her previous personal best by 9.97 seconds.

Lucy Dening was full of energy swimming her way into eight 10-11 championship event finals.

Having recorded top-ten finishes in four finals, Dening found her niche in the butterfly discipline.

She gave it everything in the 50m final eclipsing her previous personal best by three tenths of a second and fortunately that effort was enough for a gold medal to be placed around her neck.

Dening’s smile did not disappear after she also collected silvers in the 100m fly and backstroke finals with more dashing times before appearing in two relays.

Lucy Edwards was a regular face in numerous 14-year-old age group championship events including four finals.

She developed a knack of beating her previous best times and fell inches away from medals in the 50m butterfly and backstroke races.

Edwards had to settle on fourth on both occasions, but also competed in the 10-14 year olds and Open Medley and freestyle relays.

Young 14-year-old swimmer Eden Smith acquitted himself well to the SA Country Championships stage.

Two personal best times were the highlights including the 50m fly final, plus the Open Medley relay.

Competing in the 13-year-old age bracket, Charles Moore developed a third for medals.

Swimming in five finals Moore was rewarded with a silver medal in the 50m butterfly after beating his PB by more than two seconds.

An even faster time compared to his personal best also scored bronze in the 50m backstroke and the 10-14-year-olds medley.

Vincent Moore showed some stamina in the 10-11 grade reaching the finals in each of his five individual events.

A bronze medal in the 10-14-year-old medley was good reward for his efforts.

Swimming in the competitive 15-year-old grade Elijah Stratford stepped up shaving off many personal bests.

Stratford also competed in four finals with a top-five berth in the 50m freestyle.

He was a valuable member of the 14-18-year-old medley and freestyle races helping Mount Gambier score bronze.

His brother Vaughn Stratford competed in 11 events reaching three Under 14 finals.

His top result was a fourth in the 50m breaststroke, but overcoming his 200m freestyle by more than 10 seconds was arguably the highlight.

Stratford was able to make an appearance in the podium after helping the 10-14-year-old medley team finish third.

Indee Stratford was another Mount Gambier swimmer to put her name in numerous finals and collect personal best results.

The major highlight of her campaign was an impressive swim the 50m butterfly.

Stratford smashed her previous PB by almost three seconds and snagged a bronze medal at the line.

She also finished fourth in the 50m backstroke and competed in both the 10-14-year-old and Open medley and freestyle relays.

It was a truly outstanding effort by all the Mount Gambier swimmers, but they could not have done it without coaches Nathan Stratford, Julie Moran and Haylea Crowe for the countless hours put in both on and off the pool deck in the lead up to the Championships.

After the success the club is looking forward to 2023 when it will host the Championships at the Wulanda Sports and Recreation Centre.

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