Ealing Swimming Club produced a fine overall performance at the first weekend of the 2008 Middlesex County Age Group Championships, winning an impressive total of 34 gold, 21 silver and thirteen bronze medals and breaking one County record. The competition, which included individual distance events, 50m sprints and relays was held at Enfield’s 8 lane 25m pool with single age bands from 9 to 17 years and above.

The spread of gold medal winners was wide but Georgina Heyn (23), Melako Coker (14) and Lauren Turner (14) each achieved three first places. Heyn, shortly off to the Olympic trials, took the 17/o 50m backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle with second place in the butterfly  and her time of 32.75 in the breaststroke made a new County and Club record. Coker won the 50m butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke with a silver in the 50m freestyle, while Turner was first in the 50m backstroke and freestyle and the 800m freestyle.

Brothers Eamon (11) and Ramsey (15) Haroun each won two golds – Eamon winning the 50m freestyle and butterfly with bronze in the 50m backstroke, and Ramsey the 800m and 1500m, in which he produced exceptional best times, dropping from 17.11 to 16.32 in the 1500m and from 8.58 to 8.41 in the 800m.

Golds were also achieve by Ade Coker (11) – 50m breaststroke; Daniel (15) and James (20) Crawford – 50m breaststroke and 800m freestyle respectively; Natalie Durant (17) – 800m freestyle; Maisie Jameson (9), Sian McDonnell (9) and Lucy Thornton (9), all in their first Middlesex championships – 50m backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly respectively; Charles Turner (23), also shortly to attend the Olympic trials, 50m freestyle; Jenna Turner (17) 50m butterfly; Sophie Shafique (15) 50m backstroke; Rohan Singh (11) 800m freestyle; Polly Kemp-King (15), 50m butterfly; Joao Mathias (22), 50m butterfly  and Sally Moore (15) 1500m freestyle.

Coker also won the silver in the 50m freestyle and bronze in the butterfly; James Crawford the silver in the 50m freestyle, Jameson the silver in the 50m butterfly and bronze in the 50m freestyle; Singh silver in the 50m backstroke and bronze in the freestyle;Kemp-King silver in the freestyle and Jenna Turner silver in the 50m freestyle.

Relay golds were won by the 9 year old girls medley team; the 10/11 years boy’s medley and freestyle teams, the 14/15 girl’s freestyle team, the 16/o men’s freestyle and medley teams and the 16/o women’s freestyle team. All relay events were 4 x 50m.

Luke Shewring (18), Omar Haroun (9), Tom Brommage (13) and Alex Bandarian (12) all won individual silver medals. Shewring came second in the 800m and 1500m freestyle, Haroun in the 50m breaststroke, Brommage in the 50m breaststroke and Bandarian in the 50m backstroke. Relay silvers were picked up by the 12/13 and 14/15 boy’s teams in both medley and freestyle events; the 9 years girls freestyle team, the 14/15 girl’s medley team and the 16/o women’s medley team.

Bronze medals were won by Zak Shafique (15) 50m butterfly and backstroke; Elena Love (9), 50m breaststroke; Laura McDonnell (12), 50m breaststroke; Laura (15) and Emma Curran (18) both 800m freestyle; Harry Jukes (11) butterfly, Aaron Pullen (10) breaststroke and Catherine Holton (15), 1500m freestyle. The 12/13 girls’ freestyle team also came third in their event.

Twenty-four swimmers also achieved rankings in the top eight of events. These were Sebastien Bordonnat, Emma Curran, Omar Haroun, Aaron Pullen and Lucy Thornton (all in 3 events), Hannah Cierebiej-Jeffery (12), Sian McDonnell and Sophie Shafique (all in two events) and Alex Bandarian, Tom Brommage, Ade Coker, Ramzey Crawford (18), Charlotte Fairclough, (14), Bethan Hall Jones (12), Eamon Haroun, David Hickman (18), Joao Mathias, Sally Moore, Craig Pedersen (15), Zak Shafique, Joseph Sheehan (11), Rohan Singh, Cathy Surey (15) and Georgia Watt (14). 

The Middlesex championships continue on the 8th and 9th March.