Swimmers Caitriona Stewart & Alex Johnson won Scottish National silver medals over the Easter weekend when they took on the best swimmers from across Scotland and beyond. They are the first medals the club has secured at the National event in well over a decade if not decades.
Three swimmers from Helensburgh Amateur Swimming club qualified to compete at the Scottish National Age Group Championships. The competition held at Tollcross International Swimming Centre over 5 days hosted 1000 talented young swimmers from over 90 clubs from across the UK.
Caitriona Stewart swimming in the 13 age group competed in 6 events. Swimming strongly over 4 days she secured personal best times in all of her events, secured a place in 5 finals and moved up the rankings several places. The highlight of the week for her was the 50m Freestyle where she secured a silver medal in a fast paced final storming to second place in 28.18s. In the 50m backstroke she secured a 1.25s PB and moved up the rankings from 10th to 4th place narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. In the 100m freestyle she secured a 0.71s PB and moved up the rankings from 10th to 7th place. In the 100m breaststroke she secured a 1.15s PB and moved up the rankings from 14th to 7th place. In the 50m breaststroke she secured a 0.08s PB and retained her ranking at 6th and in the 50m Butterfly she secured a 0.30s PB and retained her ranking at 13th. A fantastic performance.
Alexander Johnson swimming in Male 16 age group competed in 2 events. Also swimming strongly he secured a place in the finals for both events, personal best times in both of his heats which he improved on again in both finals and jumped several places up the rankings. He secured a silver medal in the final of the 100m butterfly in what was a very closely contested race from the off. He finished in 1.01.21 just 0.01s ahead of the next two swimmers who finished joint third. He moved from a ranking of 11th to 2nd and secured a PB of 2.11s. Alex also swam in the arduous 400m freestyle finishing in 4.21.91 securing a massive PB of 4.90s and jumping from 12th to 6th place. A fabulous performance.
Roisin Kavanagh who swims in the age 12 category was competing in the age 11-13 grouping which meant she was swimming against girls the majority of whom were a year older than her. The event was Roisin’s debut at National level and she coped well with the pressure. She swam strongly in all 3 of her events largely maintaining her ranking and her personal best times. In the 50m backstroke she finished 26th overall but was the 3rd fastest 12 year old, in the 50m butterfly she finished in 25th place but was the 4th fastest 12 year old and in the 50m Freestyle she finished 30th but was the 5th fastest 12 year old. One to watch for next year!
The swimmers excellent performance is testament to the support and dedication of the club’s coaches who are all parent volunteers.
If you are interested in joining the swimming club please visit the “contact us” page on our website: helensburghasc.co.uk.
