800m County Championships 
The 2011/12 County Championships kicked off in style for GCSC on Sunday 11 Dec at GL1 with the 800m distance event. This is the first year that the distance events haven’t been licenced due to the distance events taking place in a different calendar year (2011) to the remaining events in Feb/Mar 2012. However the competition was as tough as ever with most Swimming Clubs in Gloucestershire taking part.
GCSC were represented by 21 swimmers. First up were the boys and Chris Malone got us off to a cracking start in his first attempt at an 800m resulting in a 1st place finish in the 11 year old category (10:26.68). In the 12 year old category Matt Munden and Alex Seymour, also novices at this event, attacked the race from the start and finished in excellent times of 9:44.76 and 9:51.05 respectively to take the Gold and Silver medal. Will Carter (13) swam a fantastic 63 second PB on his time at this event last year to win a Bronze medal in the 13 year old boys in a time of 9:41.20.
Craig Munden (14) pulled out all the stops in lane 8 to win Gold in the 14 year old age group in an impressive time of 8:57.46. He also broke the 14 year old County Age group record of 9:02.21 previously set by George Ashton of Soundwell in 2010 and was also crowned Junior County Champion. Great race Craig!
In the 16 year old category, Jake Michaels and Sam Gaskins both raced well in PB times of 8:59.44 and 9:19.79 to finish in 4th and 5th place. We had 4 swimmers in the 18/Over age group – Dan Woodward, Luke Tasker, Tom Howells and Tom Grime. Luke and both Toms swam solid races with Luke winning a Bronze medal with Tom H finishing in 4th and Tom G finishing in 5th place.
However the King of the 800m for the men was Dan Woodward. Dan made it look effortless as he kept pace with the field for the first 400m and then stepped up his game to storm to victory and the Gold in a fantastic time of 8:34.79. He was crowned both Senior and overall County Champion for this event. He also set a new Competition best time and County record beating the previous record of 8:35.41 set by Luke Bridgeman in 2009. Great result Dan!
And so it was time for the GCSC girls! Leading the way was 11 year old Izzy Hewson-Barsellotti and 12 year old Bethan Blakelock competing in their first 800m event. For both girls it was a learning experience and they both stepped up to the challenge. Izzy finished in a time of 11:58.05 in 6th place whilst Bethan at 11:48.95 finished in 9th place.
In the 13 year old category Megan Hartery, Ashling Keeble and Sophie Hall represented GCSC. Megan finished in 6th place in a time of 10:17.79 which represented a great pb of 26.71 secs while Ashling finished in 12 place in a time of 11:08.67 and a massive pb of 41.91 secs! Sophie was in the fastest heat of the night at just 13 years old. She started as she meant to carry on keeping up a superb pace to win the Gold in a very quick time of 9:20.03. She also set a new County record for 13 year old girls smashing the previous record of 9:33.48 set by Imogen Wells in 2008. No surprises then that Sophie claimed the Junior Championship title. Well done Sophie!
Ely Seymour and Alice Price were competing in the 15 year old category. Alice can turn her hand to most events in swimming and did not disappoint in the 800m free. She won Gold in this age group in a time of 9:33.24 representing a 10.83 sec PB. Ely finished strong in 6th place in a time of 10:05.13 with a 6 sec PB. It’s quite something for a swimmer to come back after 2 years of illness and very little training but that is exactly what Ely has done. A lesser person would not even attempt to compete in an 800m event. Well done Ely!
In the 17 year old age group Hannah Wain and Aimee Carter stepped up to the blocks. It is always great to see our Hartpury students continue to compete when they join GCSC. Hannah swam a great race in a time of 10:04.08 to win the Bronze medal. In the final heat Aimee showed her strength and ability in the distance events (great turns too Aimee J). She led from the start and kept a great pace to win the Gold in a fantastic time of 9:12.48 beating the previous County record of 9:13.99 set by Emma-Kate Tapsell of Gloucester City in 2003. Aimee also defended her Senior County Champion and overall County Champion titles for GCSC for the 2nd consecutive year.
The oldest GCSC girl competing in this event was Rebecca Johnstone, who surprisingly had never attempted this event before. It’s great to see one of our most experienced swimmers competing in a new event outside of her comfort zone. She needn’t have worried as she swam a great race in a time of 9:49.19 to clinch Gold in the 18/over age group.
A great evening for GCSC swimmers and a fantastic start to the Counties 2011/12. GCSC claimed all 4 County Championship titles on the night – Senior and Junior County Champions for both boys and girls. Unbelievably all 4 of our County Champions set new County record times! GCSC currently lead the medal table with 8 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. Many thanks to our poolside coaches, Andy and Jane, our officials and parent helpers.
Congratulations and well done to the whole of team GCSC!