Kendal Swimming Club staged its latest round of Championships with a Gala at the local Leisure Centre which attracted a large entry covering a wide range of distances and strokes.

The programme opened with the Ladies and Gents 200m Individual Medleys giving swimmers an early chance to show off their all round skills. Both Megan Jones and Ollie Sargeant set the pace and as their races progressed they just got better and better. Josie Johnson made a spirited challenge on winner Jones to take Silver, with Sophie Richardson in Bronze. Sargeant produced an outstanding swim taking him on the path to victory, leaving Thomas Klijn and Scott Womack to fight it out for the minor places where Klijn snatched the Silver and Womack the Bronze in a tight finish.

Next on the scene were the club’s stars of tomorrow. The U/10s Freestyle final resulted in blanket finishes with Kate Collin and Jake Gibson emerging as worthy winners. Eve Atkinson and Mathew Foster both worked hard for Silver medals ahead of Chloe Westmorland and Mathew Gibson in Bronze position.

Moving up a group the U/12s got in the mix tackling the first of a series of 100m Backstroke events. The girls saw an impressive finish with the outstanding Lucie Bulman dictating the race from start to finish for a brilliant win. Emma Capstick drove hard to the finish to win Silver and Keira Nelson lifted Bronze.

Highlight of the evening came from Elliot Woodburn who proved untouchable setting a relentless pace to take the win with a fair degree of ease, which brought, him not only victory but a new Championship Record as well in a time of 1:17.63. James Escolme responded with an immaculate swim to put himself in Silver medal position leaving Adam Stansfield to bravely battle his way to a Bronze medal.

The U/14s brought Jones her second trophy of the evening with a remarkable performance. Closely challenged by Johnson and Caitlin Deegan she pulled off some brilliant turns and transitions to hold on for the win with Johnson taking Silver and Deegan Bronze. For the boys Woodburn again reigned supreme, clearly outstripping Jacob Klijn in Silver and Louie Tideswell the Bronze for his second title.

The Junior and Senior titles had Jones capturing two more trophies with Johnson again having to settle for Silver whilst Sophie Richardson fought her way through for the Bronze medals. Ollie Sargeant now one of the Club’s top swimmers showed his superb skill and technique, making a supreme effort and forging ahead of Thomas Klijn and Ben Cudby.

Into the pressure zone Sargeant put in another injection of pace to get the verdict. A change brought on 50m Breaststroke sprints and the U/12s gave Lucy Klijn success ahead of challengers Keira Nelson and Elise Tallon, whilst Escolme then showed his talent at this stroke powering home ahead of Mathew Foster and Mathew Gibson.

The Gala concluded with Jones collecting an amazing fifth trophy as Ladies Champion ahead of Bethan Rowley and Johnson, whilst Woodburn completed a hat trick that saw him hold off powerful attacks from Sargeant and Womack in a fantastic race.