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.