Age Group Nationals 2011
Nationals Day 1 Session 1. WOW! What a start.
Hi from sunny Sheffield. Although it might as well be raining cats and dogs when all you see is the inside of a swimming pool!
All three of our Age-Group qualifiers were competing this morning, although none in their strongest events. Sophie Hall in the 100 free, and Alex Seymour and Matthew Munden both in the 100 Back. Its great to have more than just the odd swimmer at Age-Group Championships as this increases the feeling of team unity. Success breeds success. Only Matthew was seeded to final as he went in ranked 6th. After this mornings heats however, things look promising for this evenings finals. Sophie Hall was ranked 12th going into the 100 free, but swam a great heat to qualify 8th, with a new Pb 0f 1:02.63, With no heat swimmer going under 1:02 the final will be VERY close, and if Sophie can get a strong dive – who knows what might happen! In the 100m Backstroke, although Alex Seymour hasn't finaled, he swam a superb Pb of over 2 seconds to finish 14th. Mathew Munden swan brilliantly in his 100 back. His new pb of 1:11.37 was over 3 seconds inside his entry time, and he is now ranked 3rd going into tonights final. Again the qualifying times for the final are very close, so this evenings events could be very exciting.
All in all, session 1 has filled everyone with great confidence for the rest of the week!
Finals Session Day 1.
To have swimmers competing in National finals, is a considerable achievement. Tonight Gloucester had 2.
After this mornings session where all three swims were big Pb's. expectations were high. Although Sophie Hall's swim qualified her in 8th place for the final, her time was only .33 off a silver medal, and Matthew qualified for his final in bronze medal position. It should also be said, neither of these events were Sophie and Matthew's strongest.
In the event, both swam really strongly. Sophie swam another Pb in finishing 9th, and Matthew finished in the worst of all positions in a final – 4th. So, a slightly disappointing evening, but really only because expectations were so high after such a good morning.
In truth, everyone today has performed outstandingly well. All big Pb's, and 2 National Finalists in one day. Great swims, and confidence boosting for the rest of the championships.
Onwards and upwards for day 2....
Andy 21/07/11
Nationals Day 2 – Session 3
THE ROLER COASTER OF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS!
Another exciting morning! All 3 Age-Group qualifiers in action this morning, and mixed fortunes throughout. First up was Sophie Hall in the 400 free.
After Sophie's excellent swim yesterday, making her first National final, expectations were high for Sophie's 400 free. This was especially so, as she is ranked second fastest in the country! Unfortunately, Sophie didn't feel right this morning, and in the inferno of Ponds Forge, she felt increasingly unwell as the morning went on. She swam a brave heat, and actually qualified second reserve for the final. However, we all felt it was in Sophie's best interest's to withdraw from tonight's finals, and concentrate on her best event tomorrow, the 200 free. Lets hope a day in the fresh air, drinking lots of water (!) will get her in good shape for tomorrow.
Next up was Alex Seymour in his favoured event, the 200 fly. Alex has consistently ranked in the top 3 in his age group nationally all year. His confidence was also high after swimming a Pb yesterday. Alex's heat swim was outstanding, judging his pace superbly and qualifying for tonight's final in second place, 0.14 off first.
Finally this morning Matt Munden swam in the 200 I.M. Matt was really disappointed yesterday finishing 4th in the 100 back. 4th at nationals is great but he felt a medal was very much a possibility. The I.M is also a very a fun event for Matthew, but again a massive Pb, saw him qualify for his second final of the week, albeit in 10th place.
So for the second day running, two Gloucester swimmers go into tonight's finals session with possibilities of Pb's and maybe a medal!
Finals Session Day 2
GLOUCESTER ON THE MEDAL TABLE!
Another great night's swimming, 2 finalists and our first medal. A great night!
Alex Seymour won the District Championships in a time of 2:37 which then was a big Pb, and put him 3rd in the National Rankings. That was in June. Tonight Alex won a silver medal in a time of 2:31.76. He missed out on the Gold medal by 0.15 second. If the race had been 201m long, Alex would undoubtedly have won. It was a tremendous race, with Alex gaining on the eventual winner, stroke by stroke. With his 100m split being a huge Pb (of 1:12.08), it's also a good omen for the 100 fly later in the week.
Matthew Munden also swam tonight in the 200 I.M. Final. Yet again Matthew swam a superb race with yet another Pb, finishing in 8th position. Matthew is determind to match (or beat!) Alex's achievements tomorrow as they both compete in the 200m Backstroke, Matthews favoured event. Lets hope he can improve on his 4th place finish in the 100m event, and Alex can join him in the final. A national final with two Gloucester swimmers competing would be a great achievement.
An update on Sophie Hall. She really choose the wrong day to get ill. She has rested well today, and slept lots! We're hoping she'll feel better tomorrow, and able to compete in the 200m freestyle event. We've all got our fingers crossed!
Andy 22/07/11
Nationals Day 3 - Session 5
THE ROLLER COASTER ROLLS ON!
Another strong session this morning. Great news was that Sophie turned up to swim. Still a little pale, but a shortened warm up, and instructions to go outside out of the heat with plenty of drink meant she was able line up for her heat of the 200 freestyle.
As the fastest qualifier, she was in the fastest heat, with all 13 year olds. This made it really difficult as she had no one to use as a pace guide, and the chances were she'd be swimming on the feet of other swimmers. Sophie (although still not 100%) swam really strongly to qualify in 4th fastest time for the final. Ideally placed for this evening in lane 3. Also, no swimmer in the heats swam as fast as her entry time, so, as long as she's feeling ok, she's done an excellent job this morning.
The next event was the Boys 200 Back. Again both Alex and Matthew were involved. Alex had a really tough job as he had a short course entry time, and was therefore in the first heat, but with no other 11 year olds, but one 12 year old, and two 13 year olds. This was tough on Alex as again he had no one to swim against and no idea of pace. He swam well though, and Pb'd to finish in 13th place, just missing a place as reserve finalist, by one place.
Matthew swam two heats later. The 200 is Matthews preferred event, so he was well up for swimming well. His entry time when winning Districts was 2:34.16, but he swam 2:31.74 to qualify in third position. Once again, Matthew has real chances tonight to get himself on the National Podium, if he concentrates for the 2 ½ minutes involved!!!!
Another National Finals session with strong chances of Gloucester success beckons.
Finals Session Day 3
Talk about Silver linings!
What a night. I constantly tell swimmers to enjoy the good times, and they don't get much better than tonight.
As I wrote earlier, we knew there were chances this evening, but both Sophie Hall and Matt Munden would have to swim outstandingly well to achieve their goals of matching Alex Seymour's medal from yesterday. Sophie has been ill, so the decision to withdraw her from last nights finals, and from the 800 free today, seemed the right one. It was absolutely proved to be the right decision when Sophie powered her way to a National Silver medal in the 200m freestyle. She took the swim really strongly from the gun, and swam a Pb in the process. With everything Sophie has been through recently, moving house, schools, clubs, its a fantastic achievement in her first National Championships.
Just two races later, Matt swam in the 200m Backstroke. 2:34 won the District title, 2:31 qualified third for the final, and 2:29.49 won him the silver here. It was a staggering swim as Matthew concentrated hard, followed a race plan and only missed the gold by 0.4 sec, and slightly missed his finish!
Sophie and Matt have now finished their events, and can now return home, to enjoy their holidays and a summer break. Alex Seymour has two days to go with two more events. All three swimmers have (so far), a National silver to their name, all at 200m events. A brilliant achievement from all of them.
Andy 23/07/11
Nationals Day 4 - Session 7
THE MORNING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE.....
With Sophie Hall and Matt Munden having finished their programmes, Alex Seymour had to lift himself again after the highs of the past few days. Not easy when he's now here as our sole representative for the final 2 days of Age-Group Championships.
Alex won Silver here on Friday in the 200 Fly, but today saw him compete in the 100 event. He entered the heats as 5th fastest qualifier, and his 100 split on his 200 final was over 1.5 seconds faster than his entry time. In truth, Alex's main event is the 200, but again hope's were high for a solid swim. Heats now are tough to judge, as after 4 or 5 days in this environment, warming up, racing, swimming down etc, does take its toll and swimmers are certainly beginning to show signs of tiredness. Alex however did a very solid job in his heat, gaining a centre lane for tonight's final, finishing as second fastest qualifier.
His time of 1:13.04 was not quiet as fast as his 200 split, but was faster than his entry time. He just needs to step up another gear for tonight's final, to try to keep the Gloucester Roller Coaster going!
Finals Session Day 4
Great work continuing in Sheffield!
Another session, another finalist, and another medal!
A second medal for Alex Seymour in the 100 Fly.
Alex isn't as confident on the 100 Fly as he is on the 200. Indeed, the pleasing thing for me as a Coach is that all Gloucester's Age-Group medals (before this evening), have come in the 200m events. Age-groupers really need to develop strength before they can swim fast 100's so this is an event I'm sure Alex will grow into.
Yet another Pb, but only marginally faster than his 100 split on the 200 which emphasises I think how much more confidence Alex has over the longer distance. Alex's time, 1:12.06, finished in bronze medal position. Although qualifying for the final in second place, he actually qualified for the event itself in 5th position, so the goal was to get on the podium for the second time this week, which Alex did, in style!
Just one more day of Age-Groups, then we'll be into preparation for the Youth Championships.
Andy 24/07/11.
Age Group Nationals - Final Day.
Success to the end...........
The final day of Age-groups saw continued success for Gloucester. With Matthew and Sophie finishing their programme's previously, it just left Alex Seymour to compete in the 400 I.M. After a really tough and tiring week, its quiet a thing to finish on two 400 I.M's!
Alex's Pb was swam at Ponds Forge earlier this year at the Derventio Open Meet. Its a tough ask for Alex as he has a weak breaststroke, and his 400 medley at Districts was disappointing. So Alex had to really focus today.
As a National qualifier on backstroke and fly, obviously Alex knew he would be well up with the field, but sure enough, he did get found out somewhat on the breaststroke leg. However, Alex swam a 5 second Pb in the heat to make the final, and then Pb'd again in the final, bringing his Pb down now to 5:41.22 to finish in a very creditable 8th place.
Presentations were awarded to the top 8 BAGCT points scorers in each age-group today. Congratulations to Matthew Munden for finishing in 9th place in the 11 year boys BAGCAT category.
ROLL OF HONOUR.
National Top 10 finishes from National age-group championships 2011.
Matthew Munden 4th 100 Backstroke
Sophie Hall 9th 100 Freestyle
Alex Seymour 2nd 200 Butterfly
Matthew Munden 8th 200 I.M
Sophie Hall 2nd 200 Freestyle
Matthew Munden 2nd 200 Backstroke
Alex Seymour 3rd 100 Fly
Alex Seymour 8th 400 I.M
And finally......
I think its worth reflecting on why these championships have produced such outstanding results. Speaking with Jane Seymour (who has a very long association with Gloucester City, dating back to her swimming career), she believes it to be one of Gloucester's best Age-Group Championships, and certainly so in the last 25 years.
Swimmers competing here are training at 9 hours per week. Most of the swimmers their ages here are doing much more (although the most successful swimmer in Alex and Matt's age-group is still not doing mornings, and is a well developed lad)! Our guys therefore can now step up their programme. However, they do swim virtually ALL the programme. They don't miss sessions. They also commit to their land programme.
They have therefore been dedicated to achieve here, throughout the year. They have also prepared well over the last 5 weeks, again following their programme of sessions and meterage. In short their training ethic, has been good.
Whilst here, they have handled themselves excellently. Arrived when they should, warmed up well, at the right times, and been focused. Yes, even Matthew focused, most of the time!!!
Their swims have shown Pb after Pb. They have swam at their fastest, when it mattered, and when they should have, not just with small Pb's, but in some cases massive Pb's, over already good times.
The outcomes are there for all to see. I'd like to congratulate all of them on an outstanding week.
Andy 25/07/11