Three West Norfolk swimmers combined to win six medals as the club enjoyed another highly successful Swim England National Summer Meet in Sheffield.
Alexander Pattison, Olivia Bradford and Jamie Wilson led the way for the Lynn-based club, collecting two gold and four silver medals between them against the country’s best young swimmers at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre.
Competing across six days of racing, West Norfolk Swimming Club sent an eight-strong squad to the national championships and returned home with a host of personal bests, finals appearances and national honours.
Pictured are West Norfolk Swimming Club’s Swim England National Summer Championships qualifiers with Adrian Harris of AR Harris Building Contractors, a Member of the Guild of Master Craftsmen specialising in new builds, extensions and renovations. AR Harris Building Contractors have generously sponsored the club’s branded team shirts and jackets worn by the swimmers throughout the national championship season.
Pattison produced one of the standout performances of the meet by winning gold in the 200m butterfly.
After setting the fastest heat time of 2min 12.79sec, he improved to a personal best 2:11.30 in the final to take the national title.
He also claimed silver in the 100m butterfly with another personal best of 57.87 and finished fifth in the 50m butterfly after lowering his best time to 26.45.
Jamie Wilson and Alexander Pattison
Bradford also struck gold, topping the podium in the 50m butterfly.
Having led the heats in 29.09, she swam a personal best 28.49 in the final to secure victory.
Earlier in the week she took silver in the 50m freestyle with a personal best 27.16 and also competed in the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle.
Wilson enjoyed a packed programme of seven individual events and emerged with two silver medals.
Olivia Bradford
He finished runner-up in the 100m butterfly after posting a personal best 57.15 and added a second silver in the 1500m freestyle with another personal best of 16:40.56.
The versatile swimmer also reached finals in the 400m freestyle and 50m butterfly, recording personal bests in both events, while also competing in the 200m individual medley, 200m freestyle, 800m freestyle and 400m individual medley.
Joshua Jones narrowly missed out on the medals but impressed with three national final appearances in the breaststroke events.
He finished seventh in the 50m breaststroke final with a personal best 31.37, fifth in the 200m breaststroke with a season’s best 2:30.33 and fifth in the 100m breaststroke after lowering his personal best to 1:08.52.
Freddie Laws also reached a national final, qualifying in the 100m breaststroke in the 18 years and over age group and finishing 10th overall.
Among the club’s youngest representatives, 13-year-old Valeria Soldatihhina and 12-year-old Elizabeth Litvinenko gained valuable experience at their first National Summer Meet.
Soldatihhina recorded a personal best in the 200m individual medley, while Litvinenko posted a personal best in the 100m butterfly.
Completing the West Norfolk team, Sarah O’Brien returned to the national stage in the senior age group, competing in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke events.
Head coach Sarah Vanderloo praised the squad after a demanding season, with the club’s six-medal haul, numerous finals appearances and strong collection of personal bests underlining the depth of talent being developed.
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