A BRILLIANT swim by the in form Elliot Woodburn was a highlight of the first block of club championships staged by Kendal Swimming Club at the GLL Centre this week.

Woodburn is still in dazzling form following his Cumbria age group successes and his time of 1:11.61 in the combined event beat a record set by Darren Gibson in way back in 1995.

And Sophie Gibson was equally impressive in the women’s combined as she produced a swim which combined power, technique and determination to edge out Megan Jones and Bethan Rowley in a close finish.

The same trio were also involved in a thrilling Ladies 200m Backstroke final along with Rosemary Swallow, Lucie Bulman and Natalie Pinder, with Swallow producing a devastating injection of late pace to take the Championship in a time of 2:33.03 with Jones runner up and Gibson taking bronze.

Woodburn continued his dazzling form in the Gents 200m Backstroke as he finished in a time of 2:17.22 to hold off the hard working Thomas Klijn and up and coming James Escolme for a superb win.

Next up were the 100m Breaststroke Championships, starting with the Girls U/12yrs event in which terrific performances by Annie Bottomley and Anna Roberts saw them hit the wall together in 1:47 with only three hundredths of a second giving Bottomley the win over Roberts with the hard working Lara Smith taking Bronze.

The Boys’ event also came down to the wire with Austin Woodburn edging out Mathew Capstick in another exciting finish and Benjamin Rowley taking a well deserved Bronze.

With a 30 strong entry in the Girls U/14yrs, some fabulous swimming was on display but Sophie Roberts stamped her authority on the final from the early stages and held off strong challenges from Ellie Bottomley and Chloe Westmorland for a fine victory.

The Boys U/14yrs saw the in form Escolme seal a comfortable win, Mathew Gibson and Lennon Bell performing with credit to take the minor place medals.

In the Girls U/11yrs 50m Butterfly, Anna Roberts took an early lead over Sophie Robinson and Elissa Kinley then moved up a gear to triumph in a storming finish.

The Ladies then produced another classic with Lucy Sargeant, Sophie Roberts, Rosemary Swallow, Lucie Bulman, Megan Jones and Bethan Rowley all in the mix, Sargeant just pipping Roberts with Swallow taking Bronze.

Finally came a magnificent Gents’ event with Elliot Woodburn taking the title for a hat trick of wins.

The Klijn brothers Thomas and Jacob took the minor places but Adam Stansfield, Alex Tallon, James Escolme, Jacob Saunders, Leon Priestley-Nying and Max Ainsworth all finished in close contention.