Swimming: Chester settle for second despite 68-medal haul

Feb 8 2008 by Alec Doyle, Chester Chronicle

CITY of Chester pulled out all the stops as their 27-strong team returned from the North Midlands Championships with 68 medals.

Despite their bumper medal haul, the club still fell 200 points short of winning the championship, finishing in second place.

Many used the opportunity to register qualifying times for the County Swimming Championships next month.

Amazingly, 95% of the Chester team broke personal bests and two broke club records.

Leo McCormack, 14, broke Chester’s 50m fly record while Alice Howarth in the same age group broke the 50m backstroke record. And Jamie Thomas was the third best swimmer in the 10-year-old boys category.

By the time the two-day event was finished, Chester swimmers had bagged 20 gold medals, 27 silver and 21 bronze.

Coach Barry Healey: “It’s very pleasing to see swimmers in all the groups improving and trying to become better technically, more efficient in the water.”