BLENHEIM SWIMMERS MAKE A SPLASH IN NELSON

Two new regional champions from the Blenheim Swimming Club were crowned when the Swimming Nelson Marlborough long course championships were staged in Nelson last weekend.

Over 120 swimmers from across the Nelson-Marlborough region competed over four sessions in Nayland College’s outdoor 50m pool – with cold, wet and windy weather testing the swimmers over all four sessions.

Competitors aged from eight to 18 raced over distances ranging from 50 to 1500m, showing their prowess across all four swimming strokes.

The Blenheim Swimming Club took a team of 16 swimmers over the hill under the guidance of coach Jenni Gane.

Finn McNabb and Jessica Lovell both successfully defended the age group trophies they had previously won as both 12 and 13-year-old, becoming regional age group champions for the third year in a row.

The duo, who have just completed Year 9 at MBC and MGC respectively, performed exceptionally well despite not regularly training in an outdoor 50m pool. Finn won eight gold medals, while Jessica claimed four gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

Another highlight for the Blenheim contingent was the effort of 12-year-old Katie Marsh in winning the Adam & Eve relay with Joshua Amyes from the Tasman Swim Club. This race sees the fastest eight males and females pair up to race a 2x50m freestyle relay. The #1 male swims with the # 8 female, #2 male with #7 female and so on.

As part of a strong all-round team performance, following Blenheim swimmers won medals - Eliza Glover, Claudia Harris, Sophie Kole, Nicola Lovell, Katie Marsh, Lachlan McNabb, Jack Love, Hamish Timpson, Andrew Hall, Joel Verran and Quinn Verran.

Chelsea Mandeno, Jack Bugler and Hannah Kole also swam strongly to secure top five placings.

Swimmers will soon take a two-week Christmas break before beginning intensive training in January for the upcoming competitive swim season.

More information on swimming with the Blenheim Swimming Club is available at www.blenheimswimmingclub.com.

BLENHEIM SWIMMERS TURN UP THE HEAT

Blenheim Swimming Club members made the most of home advantage, producing two new regional champions and a New Zealand record when the Nelson Marlborough Short Course Championships were staged at Stadium 2000 recently.

One hundred and sixty swimmers from across the Nelson Marlborough region competed over five sessions in the Blenheim pool from July 24-26.

Competitors aged from eight to 18 raced over distances ranging from 50 to 1500 metres, showing their prowess in all four swimming strokes.

Swimmers competed within age groups and had to complete a specific set of events in order to qualify for trophies.

The Blenheim Swimming Club had a team of 39 swimmers in attendance under the guidance of coach Jenni Gane and these young athletes performed outstandingly across the weekend.

Eliza Glover and Finn McNabb both took home Nelson Marlborough regional trophies in the 11-12 age group. Eliza won the gold medal in all but one of her eight events, while Finn swam a new personal best in every event.

Meanwhile, Blenheim swimmer Jack Bugler broke his own New Zealand short course record for the 200m breaststroke in the S-14 para category twice in one day, bringing his new record time down to 3:02.74.

Medal winners from the local club over the weekend were Charlie Bennett, Ella Bowhill, Rhys Gjelstad, Eliza Glover, George Glover, Matthew Hall, Sophie Kole, Jack Love, Jessica Lovell, Nicola Lovell, Oliver Loza, Ollie Mandeno, Finn McNabb, Lachlan McNabb, Alfie Price, Minnette Richards, Kyla Thorstensen, Lexi Timpson and Joel Verran.

After the disappointment earlier in the year of many national events being cancelled due to lockdown, swimmers are now training hard for the upcoming 2020-2021 season.

For more information on swimming with the Blenheim Swimming Club, please visit their website at www.blenheimswimmingclub.com.

BLENHEIM SWIMMERS SHOW PROWESS

The Blenheim Swimming Club hailed eight new champions after three tough days of competition at the Swimming Nelson Marlborough long course championships.

Competing in the 50 metre pool at Nayland, Nelson from January 31 to February 2, the Blenheim Swimming Club had a team of 23 swimmers in attendance under the guidance of head coach Jenni Gane.

BSC competitors who won championship titles were Lexi Timpson, Jessica Lovell, Kyla Thorstensen, Finn McNabb, Rhys Gjelstad, Joel Verran, Nicola Lovell and Lachlan McNabb.

Other BSC medal winners over the weekend were Jack Bugler, Eliza Glover, Andrew Hall, Matthew Hall, Chelsea Mandeno, Oliver Mandeno, Katie Marsh, Carys McNabb, Minnette Richards & Hamish Timpson.

The format for this event involved swimmers competing within their year age groups. All swimmers had to complete a specific set of events in order to qualify for the trophies, tackling races from 50m to 1500m.

Hot and windy conditions at the outdoor meet presented swimmers with a challenge they do not formally face when training and racing at the 25m indoor pool at Blenheim’s Stadium 2000, however all swimmers performed up to expectation, with most posting personal best times over the weekend.

The Blenheim Swimming Club took out the YMCA Cup for most team points per entry, a reflection of the high standard achieved across the whole team, plus the relay teams performed exceptionally well at all age levels.

Swimmers are now training hard for national-level events coming up in the next three months and the club anticipates a strong contingent to attend these meets.

For more information on swimming with the Blenheim Swimming Club, visit their website at www.blenheimswimmingclub.com.