Straight back into action from their training camp in Thailand were the Senior Elite swimmers. Kate Clifton, Elliot Clogg, Cameron Brookes-Clarke and Lily Boseley all demonstrating their class with golds in the 50 Free, 50 Back, 50 Fly and 50 Back respectively. This was a great opportunity for some of Team Steel’s younger swimmers to see what hard work and dedication amounts to. With a strong heat swim Elliot Clogg was seeded 4th in the 50 Freestyle final but showed his racing instinct and touched first in the final in a lightning fast 23.60 sec. Some of our younger swimmers, such as Katrina Tutoveanu, seemed to be inspired straight away with a fantastic bronze medal over the 50 breaststroke in the 10/11 age group. Others, such as Amber Finlay, Isla Heathcote, Erin Tankard and Jacob Haslingdon had some great swims over the weekend, and hopefully with experiences like this more is to come.
With the sprinting events over, the next day started with the 800 Freestyle. Isla Jones kept her fantastic form going and struck gold once more in the 10/11-year age group. Molly Baker was also able to get on the podium with a bronze medal in the 12 years age group.
In the afternoon it was time for the long-awaited relays. In these Team Steel lived up to its name and the whole team stepped up. It is a great experience to swim as part of a team with your training partners challenging for a medal, it can really boost your performance and lift you to the next level. Some of the stand-out team performances were both the Open Men’s and Women’s team with a gold each in the 4x 50 Freestyle and the 11/12 Age Group Women’s team got the double in the 4x50 Freestyle and 4x50 Medley teams.
For a lot of swimmers, the relay is the first opportunity to race at the Yorkshire level and with so many teams and swimmers this can sometimes be a bit daunting, thankfully Team Steel do not just have some amazing coaches and swimmers, but also a group of fantastic and dedicated volunteer Team Managers. These Team Managers ensure the swimmers get to the right races and the coaches can fully focus on their job, a special thank you to all Team Managers over the last few weekends.
Gold Medallists:
Cameron Brookes-Clarke 50 Butterfly
COSSS A 11/12 Age Group Women 4x50 Freestyle
COSSS A 11/12 Age Group Women 4x50 Medley
COSSS A Open Men 4x50 Medley
COSSS A Open Women 4x50 Medley
COSSS A Open Women 4x50 Freestyle
Elliot Clogg 50 Freestyle
Elliot Clogg 50 Backstroke
Isla Jones 800 Freestyle
Kate Clifton 50 Butterfly
Kate Clifton 50 Freestyle
Sophie Bromley 50 Backstroke
Thomas Wilkinson 50 Breaststroke
Silver Medallists:
Cameron Brookes-Clarke 50 Freestyle
Charlotte Berry 50 Butterfly
COSSS A 13/14 Age Group Women 4x50 Medley
COSSS A 15/16 Age group Men 4x50 Medley
COSSS A 9/10 Age Group Women 4x50 Freestyle
COSSS A Open Men 4x50 Freestyle
Isobel Grant 50 Butterfly
Bronze Medallists:
Anthony Woodrow 50 Backstroke
COSSS A 13/14 Age Group Men 4x50 Medley
COSSS A 9/10 Age Group Men 4x50 Freestyle
COSSS A 9/10 Age Group Women 4x50 Medley
Katrina Tutoveanu 50 Breaststroke
Molly Baker 50 Butterfly
Molly Baker 800 Freestyle