29 October 12
At the British Gas ASA National Masters and Senior Age Group Swimming Championships held at Ponds Forge Sheffield last weekend Trafford Metro swimmers achieved their most impressive results to date smashing 4 world and 3 European relay records as well as an individual British record.
Twenty seven of the clubs swimmers attended the 3 day championships competing in 111 individual events and 25 relay events. These swimmers achieved the massive of haul of 73 medals with 21 individual gold British champions including a British record for Sarah Healey in the 100m Butterfly 30-34 years age category lowering the previous mark by almost a second to an impressive 1:03.53. There were also 24 silver and 6 bronze medalists. The swimmers joining Sarah on the winners podium as British champions include: Helen Sadler for the 50m Backstroke and Freestyle 40-44 years both of which were in personal best times, Neil Mackinnon aged 71 for the 50 Breastroke Butterfly and Freestyle as well as 100 Individual Medley, Nev Barton age 58 for 50m Breastroke and Freestyle, Nev’s wife Rachel in the 60-64 years for 50 Butterfly and 1500m Freestyle, Lucy Lloyd-Roach for 50 Butterfly in the 25-29 years, Alec Johnson in the 50-54 years for the 100 IM, 100 Butterfly and 50 Freestyle, Rob Arnold in the same age group for the 200 Butterfly, Rebecca Lennon aged 30 for the 800 and 1500m Freestyle, Laura Bowden aged 25 for the 1500m freestyle and finally Sarah Healey added to her British record in the Butterfly with gold in the 50m Butterfly and 200m Freestyle.
In the relay events Trafford won 12 gold 6 silver and 4 bronze medals. The world record breakers were the teams of: Ladies 4x100m Freestyle combined age 100+ team of Lucy Lloyd-Roach, Emma Ross, Laura Bowden and Sarah Healey smashing the previous record by nearly 4 seconds setting a new mark of 4:05.61. The Ladies 160+ Medley team of Tracie Gorst, Jo Bolton, Lucy Lloyd-Roach and Helen Sadler knocked 5 seconds off the record they had set earlier in the year lowering it to 4:42.41. The Ladies 4x200 Freestyle combined age 100+ comprising Lucy Lloyd-Roach, Becky Lennon, Emma Ross and Laura Bowden reduced the old mark by nearly 6 seconds to go under the 9 minute mark for the first time with a 8:58.62. The final world record set by Trafford was in the mixed 100+ 4x200 Freestyle with Paul Barnard as lead off with Lucy Lloyd–Roach again figuring along with Laura Bowden and Ben Silver bringing the team home setting a new record of 8:34.10.
The 4x100 Mixed Medley160+ team of Helen Sadler, Steve Metcalf, Alec Johnson and Rachel Barton returning a time of 4:40.62 also set European records. In the same age category the 4x100 mixed Freestyle team saw Sarah Healey and Steve Harding join Metcalf and Sadler to set a new mark of 3:57.13 just 7 hundredths under the old mark. In the 4x50 combined age 200+ mixed medley Helen Sadler was again in action with Nev Barton, Sarah Healey and Neil Mackinnon again setting a new European record of 2:04.76 by the narrow margin of just a tenth of a second.
A specialized training programme was introduced during the last 12 weeks by Trafford Masters coach Niki Williams in the run in to the Championships that has obviously paid dividends as the performances dominated the meet results making Trafford Metro runaway winners as the UK’s top club, dominating with sheer strength and depth. An elder spokesman for the club Dave Randall, commented that ‘it was not that many years ago we were looking to win our first relay medal of any colour now here we are winning 12 relay gold and setting world records for fun’.
