INJURY Setback For Inverclyde ASC Medallist At West District Event
FIFTEEN swimmers were in action for Inverclyde Amateur Swimming Club at Tollcross for round two of the West District Long Course Age Group Championships.
The focus was on the 50-metre and 200-metre versions of all four strokes and the 200-metre individual medley (IM). With 56 individual swims, the club achieved 29 top-10 finishes, five bronze, one silver and two gold medals and another West District record.
However, it was not all good news for the club, as Matthew Garrity suffered an injury which will sideline him for six weeks and jeopardise his preparations for the Scottish National Age Group Championships.
Matthew began the competition in his usual dominant form. A fourth-place finish in the 200m freestyle was followed up by a comfortable qualification for the 50m breaststroke final. In the final itself, Matthew was challenged hard, but had the strength and speed to stay ahead of the pack to claim the gold.
The celebrations were short-lived however, as during the afternoon warm-up Matthew’s hand was accidentally trampled on. After medical treatment, he chose to swim his afternoon events and battled through the pain to finish fifth in the 50m backstroke heats and qualify for the final. During the 200m breaststroke however, the pain became too much.
Matthew managed to finish the event, and despite being well off his time, was still strong enough to claim a bronze medal. It was to be the end of his competition, and subsequent medical treatment revealed a ruptured tendon and fractured finger. Everyone at the club wishes Matthew a speedy recovery.
Medals also went to Archie McArthur, making his West District debut in the 11 to 12 age group. Archie swam to a bronze in the 200m freestyle and qualified for the 50m breaststroke final which he finished in ninth place. In the 50m backstroke final he had a fifth-place finish and he was in sixth place in the 200m breaststroke.
Archie also took on the 50m butterfly heats and finals — the same event in which he set a new West District record just one week before. Archie qualified for the final as first seed in a new record time. In the final itself, he flew off the blocks to set an even faster time and claim the gold medal. His old record hadn’t even been presented to him and he beat it twice! In the same session, a new personal best (PB) in the 200m backstroke also saw him take the bronze medal. He rounded off a very successful weekend with fourth place in the 200m IM and sixth place in the 50m freestyle final in a new PB.
The other medallist of the weekend was Aimee Watson. After missing the Schools Championships through illness, Aimee still wasn’t back to full fitness, but performed well to take the silver medal in the 200m breaststroke. Aimee also qualified for the finals of both the 50m butterfly and freestyle, and claimed a bronze medal in both. A 10th-place finish in the 200m IM showed that even below her best, Aimee is still a fierce competitor.
Molly Cannon performed well across the seven events for which she qualified. She made it to the 50m breaststroke final, which she finished in fifth place, and followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the 200m breaststroke. A PB in the 200m backstroke was rewarded with a 10th-place finish, which she followed up with a ninth place in the 200m IM. Molly also swam well in the 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle and 200m freestyle to achieve top-20 finishes in each.
Other swimmers performing well across a range of events were Ashleigh Blyth and Adam Brooks. Ashleigh set new PBs in all of her events and achieved high placings. She qualified for the final in both the 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle – finishing in eighth place each time. A ninth-place finish in the 200m backstroke was matched by a significant PB and she just missed out on the final of the 50m butterfly after finishing 11th.
Adam made the finals of the 50m freestyle and backstroke, finishing in eighth and 10th place. He just missed out on a place in the 50m breaststroke final after an exciting swim-off, but was pleased to PB in the heats. More good performances were rewarded with top-20 finishes in the 50m butterfly and the 200m freestyle.
Another two swimmers making their West District debuts in the 11 to 12 age group were Mirren McConnell and Cameron Beck. Mirren set new PBs in her 50m butterfly and 200m backstroke and achieved an excellent fourth-place finish in the back as well as being top-20 in the fly. Cameron was swimming in all four 50m events, making the final of both the butterfly and the freestyle events which he finished in eighth and 10th place. A new PB in the breaststroke also secured a top-20 finish, with a further good swim in the backstroke.
Also securing top-10 finishes was Luke Garrity. Luke made the final of the 50m breaststroke in which he finished ninth –- a feat he repeated later in the 200m breaststroke. Powerful swims in the 200m IM and freestyle earned him top-20 finishes and he set new PBs in the 50m backstroke and freestyle.
Despite finishing outside of the top 10, other swimmers were pleased with their performances at this high level of competition. Nathan Peoples and Lukas Kong were competing in the 50m butterfly and freestyle with both boys swimming well and setting new PBs. Katherine Simpson swam well in the 50m backstroke, butterfly and freestyle, setting new PBs in the back and the free.
Lucy Campbell missed her Saturday swims due to illness, but returned on the Sunday to compete in the 50m butterfly and freestyle and set a new PB in the free. Despite illness, Holly Beck performed well in the 50m breaststroke and 200m freestyle and Kian McNelis had a strong swim in the 50m backstroke.
