Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Glasgow
There was great representation from the Lothian Team at the National Junior Swimming Championships at Glasgow’s Tollcross International Swimming Centre on Wednesday 23rd November. Twenty two young people from 10 schools across Edinburgh and the Lothians participated with fantastic performances from all. A total of 20 medals (seven gold, seven silver and 6 bronze) were won by the Lothian team, an encouraging performance following the successful regional trials earlier this year. The young swimmers were fortunate enough to have their medals presented to them by none other than Jim Anderson OBE, Scotland’s six times Paralympic Champion.
There were stand-out performances from George Forbes (Cedarbank) who won gold medals in both the boys 50m Freestyle Back Class 2 (40.72) and the 50m Freestyle Front Class 1 (33.63), the latter a big winning margin of over four seconds from team mate Chad Stewart (silver; 37.81) of Saltersgate School.
There was another double gold medal haul for swimmer Keira McLeod of Woodlands School. Keira won gold medals in both the girls’ 50m Freestyle Back Class 3 (51.38) and the 50m Adapted Breast stroke (58.02). These performances were backed up by a further 15 medals across the Lothian Team, a remarkable achievement. Three Lothian athletes were also involved in record breaking races, as Christian Buchanan (Spark of Genius; 34.43) came 4th in the boys class 1 50m butterfly behind Tayside’s Jack Milne, in a new national record of 29.89s. Similarly in the girls 50m Freestyle Back Class 1, Sarah Bleakley (Ross HS) and Shannon Crosbie (Braidburn) finished 3rd and 4th respectively behind Highland’s Tammy Neef who blazed to gold in a new national record 35.07s.
Performances were excellent right across the board and we hope to see another strong Lothian Team at the event next year. For the full list of results from the championships click here.
Lothian Disability Sport would like to thank all the coaches, volunteers and parents who came along to help and support the Lothian team. Furthermore we wish to once again congratulate all the athletes who competed and who put in the hard work and commitment to allow them to qualify for such a great event. Following the success of the GB swimmers in Rio 2016 we hope this event will serve as an excellent stepping stone to the next generation of young swimmers.
For more information on swimming clubs and events in Edinburgh and the Lothians, contact Andrew Raeburn on 0131 475 2364 or admin@lothiandisabilitysport.co.uk.