IT WAS a record-breaking year for Cirencester Swimming Club at the 2014 Gloucestershire County Swimming Championships.

Swimming

Cirencester Swimming Club

Gloucestershire County Swimming Championships

The greatest number of swimmers (47) represented the club in individual events, winning the most medals (104) – 13 gold, 24 silver, 21 bronze – and there were 46 finalists. There were also a record number of swimmers (17) achieving qualification times to compete in the upcoming South West Regional Championships.

Alex Cohoon got the team off to the best start when winning the 11-year-old 1500m freestyle event in a new championship (50m pool) record time of 21.31.66. He went on to accumulate the most individual points for the team over the course of the championships, winning a total of 114 of the team total 689.

The team event also proved successful with 11 relay squads returning with three bronze and 16 finalist medals, seven more than in 2013.

The championships were held over seven says between January and March at Bath University and GL1, Gloucester. Seventeen clubs affiliated to the Gloucestershire ASA took part.

On the first weekend of competition in the 25m pool there was another significant record broken when Emily Dixon secured Cirencester’s first ever championship final podium appearance when she won bronze in the 50m Butterfly. There were 17 (another record) other championship final appearances with George Firth, Louis McCouig and Jordan Thornton all just missing out on the podium in finishing fourth in their respective 50m & 100m Backstroke & 200m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly and 100m & 200m Breaststroke events.

Not to be out-done by his older team mates, 10-year-old Joshua Maggs won gold in his first county level individual event, the 50m Breaststroke, and joined up with Adam Marriott, Tom Morris and Alfie Beckett to win bronze in the team medley relay.

At the other end of the age demographic, 40-something Nigel Masters won gold in the 200m Breaststroke and finished sixth in the championship final for the event.

The team finished seventh in the combined medal table – not a record, but an excellent achievement.