British Masters Championships 2024

BWSC Masters were out in force for this year’s British Masters Championships with a team of seven swimmers plus Coach Jim Dobinson for support.

The three-day meet started on Friday morning with 1500m Freestyle. Bridget Bewick showed everyone how it was by winning gold in her age group and setting a new PB!

With the longest event of the weekend out of the way, session 2 kicked off with the 200m Backstroke. Bridget returned to the pool with a strong effort earning herself a silver medal. Next up were Ian Smith and Huw Jones. Ian earned himself a bronze medal in his age group with a strong swim. Huw started with a conservative first length but powered on leading the way to narrowly touching out the lane next to him and finished first place in his age group; his first gold medal at British Champs! Next up was 50m Fly with four of our seven swimmers racing, Kirsty Johnson, Joe Kirkpatrick, Ian, and Noah Walton, and all of them rewarded with new PBs. Finally, Bridget ended the session with a storming 200m IM earning herself a silver medal.
What a great start to the weekend!

Session 3 saw all the men compete in 100m Freestyle. Ian started off achieving 7th place in his age group, shortly followed by Joe setting himself a new PB. Harry Middleton added another medal to the team’s stash with a Silver for his efforts.
Huw broke his own club record to finish 5th in his age group. But the record was short lived as Noah Walton obliterated it in the subsequent heat. With a new PB, a new club record, and a bronze medal, Noah showed everyone how it was done.

After a very early start on Saturday morning, the Men’s 72+ 4x50m Freestyle team woke everyone up with a new club record and a gold medal. It was clear that this weekend was going to be special. First up in the individual events was Kirsty in the 100m Backstroke. A great start set her up to lead all the way to the finish and earn herself her first gold medal of the weekend! Next up was Ian with another strong swim finishing 5th in his age group. Huw, after recovering from the relay and early start, put out a massive swim knocking 2s off his PB and earned him 5th in his age group. Last up was Harry with a very brave swim earnt him 4th in his age group.

Saturday afternoon kicked off with Huw in the 200m Freestyle. After a calm and collected start, he fended off the competition in the final 50 to earn himself a gold medal in his age group. Rounding out the day was Ian in the 100m Fly. He had a fantastic race earning himself 4th place in his age group.

After a relaxing afternoon by the sea, our swimmers were well rested for a day of 50s. First up was Kirsty in her favourite event, 50m Backstroke. With a converted entry time quicker than the record for her age group, there was a lot of pressure for her to perform. But when it comes to 50m Backstroke, Kirsty is a pro. An impressive 12.5m underwater allowed her to surface half a body-length ahead of the field. Never faltering, she increased her lead to win her heat and age group with a new British Record! What a fantastic swim, and another record to add to her collection! Rounding out the Men’s 50m Backstroke were Ian, Huw, and Harry. In his last swim of the weekend, Ian went out like he had nothing to lose, but everything to gain. And gain he did, 4th place in his age group and a new club record! Next up was Huw setting himself a new PB completing his set of PBs in his backstroke events and a 5th in his age group. Finally, Harry showed he was not to be messed with earning himself a bronze medal in his age group.

To complete the weekend, Noah was up in his favourite event, 50m Freestyle. Marking the end of his first year of masters swimming, he had a storming swim: breaking 25s, setting a new PB, and earning a bronze medal in his age group, he finished the weekend with a bang!

A great weekend of swimming and a positive team effort from the BWSC Masters lead them to finish with a tally of 5 Golds, 1 Silver and 4 Bronze individual medals, a relay team Gold, and a British Record by Kirsty Johnson. The results achieved are already getting the rest of the squad spurred on for the next masters meet at Hart
and Poole in June.