Hull Swimmers Go for Gold at County Champs
20 Feb 2023
This year’s Yorkshire Championships were a huge success for Kingston Upon Hull Swimming Club. Swimmers of all ages competed over three consecutive weekends and excelled on every level, winning a stunning total of 50 medals (27 gold, 12 silver and 11 bronze) and securing a truly impressive 104 finalist (top 10) positions. The commitment, focus and consistent effort were testimony to the many hours of training in the pools across Hull. The days at Ponds Forge in Sheffield and the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds were long but swimmers and coaches were rewarded with an array of hard-earned medals and finalist positions. In addition to the glory, an event like this offers swimmers invaluable experience and learning opportunities to take forward on their sporting journeys.
One of the Championship’s most outstanding swims came from Rio Daodu who broke Olympian Joe Litchfield’s Yorkshire record for the boys 50m backstroke in the astonishing time of 26.86 seconds. This was the only Yorkshire record broken at the entire championships, and certainly an all-time club record for KUHSC.
A special mention must also go to young Oscar Focht (11yrs), who saw off competition in his age-group and was crowned Yorkshire Champion in no less than 10 events: 50m, 100m, 200m freestyle, 50m,100m, 200m backstroke, 50m,100m butterfly, 200m breast and 200m Individual Medley. To add to these 10 golds, he also won silver medals in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and 400m freestyle.
Yorkshire Champions (GOLD) this year were: Zac Baughan-Withington (200m breaststroke, 200m butterfly and 400m IM), Lucas Christie (200m back), Rio Daodu (200m backstroke, 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke), Oscar Focht (see above), Owen Garsides (Multi-Classification 100m breaststroke, 200m IM, 100m free, 100m butterfly, 100m and 200m backstroke), and Libby Munday (50m backstroke).
Many congratulations to the following medalists: Zac Baughan-Withington (silver in 400m freestyle, 1500m freestyle and 800m freestyle), Lucas Christie (silver in 200m freestyle and bronze in 50m backstroke), Megan Chu (bronze in 400m IM, 50m back and 50m butterfly), Rio Daodu (silver in 200m IM and bronze in 50m butterfly), Rhianna Foster (bronze in 1500m freestyle), Dylan Hill (bronze in 100m backstroke and silver in 50m backstroke), Lewis Hall (bronze in 1500m freestyle), Joshua McCollin (bronze in 200m backstroke), Joseph Moment (bronze in 1500m freestyle and silver in 800m freestyle), Libby Munday (silver in 200m backstroke) and Lea Sibova (silver in 50m backstroke and bronze in 100m freestyle).
Further achievements: Annabelle Clausen qualified for 11 events and was placed in the top 10 for the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke. Llewelyn Garside swam personal best times in the backstroke and freestyle legs of his relays, narrowly missing out on medals in both finals. In addition to his first Yorkshire medal in 1500m freestyle, Lewis Hall secured a top ten position in four further events. His sister Georgina swam a massive 6-second personal best time in the 200m backstroke. Joseph Moment qualified for the British Championships in the 800m and 1500m freestyle and swam in the finals for the 200m and 400m free. Libby Munday swam her fastest ever in 6 of her 9 events, winning medals in the 50m and 200m backstroke. Isaac Pannhausen swam in 2 finals, coming 7th in the 50m freestyle and 9th in the 100m free. Daniel Pollard swam personal best times in 11 events and achieved 8 finalist positions in the highly competitive 17 and over category. Lea Sibova represented the club in 10 events, achieving long-course personal best times in every race and 6 finalist positions. Ben Towse picked up 8 good personal best times, including 3 top 10 placements in 100m free, 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle.
The Championships ended with a day of 50m sprints, the mixed 800m freestyle and 200m freestyle and medley relays. The relays always provide a high-energy end to the Championships, and this year the competition was particularly tough. This level of performance at county level bodes very well indeed for the rest of the swimming season. Well done to everyone at KUHSC! If you are interested in joining Kingston Upon Hull Swimming Club, or would like more information, please email [email protected]